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SCRIBNER, ARMSTRONG, & CO 


NEW YORK 


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RUINS OF A TEMPLE AND STATUE OF BUDDHA AT AYUTHIA. 

















































































ILLUSTRATED LIBRARY OF TRAVEL, 
EXPLORATION, AND ADVENTURE. 


SIAM, 

THE LAND OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT, 

AS IT WAS AND IS. 

COMPILED AND ARRANGED BY 

GEORGE B. BACON. 



NEW YORK: ^ 
SCRIBNER, ARMSTRONG, AND CO. 
1873. 



Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1873, by 
SCRIBNER, ARMSTRONG Si COMPANY, 

In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



RIVERSIDE, CAMBRIDGE: 
PRINTED BY H. O. HOUGHTON AND COMPANY. 


C0NTEN1S. 


H - 

PAGE 

CHAPTER L 

Early intercourse with Siam—Relations with other countries. 1 
CHAPTER II. 

Geography of Siam..... 10 

CHAPTER HL 

Old Siam—Its history. 21 

CHAPTER IV. 

The story of Constantine Phaulcon. 41 

CHAPTER V. 

Modem Siam—The present dynasty. . 69 

CHAPTER VL 

First impressions of the Meinam. 78 

CHAPTER VH. 

A royal gentleman. 92 

C HAP TER VEIL 

Phrabat Somdetch Phra Paramendr Maha Mongkut.. Ill 










iv 


CONTENTS . 


PAGE 

CHAPTER IX. 

Sir Harry Ord’s visit to Hua-wan—The great eclipse—An as¬ 
tronomical fete.134 

CHAPTER X 

Aynthia. 152 

CHAPTER XL 

Mouhot’s travels.—The country beydnd and about Ayuthia.. 165 
CHAPTER XTL 

Mouhot’s visit to Phrabat and Patawi. 180 

CHAPTER XTTT. 

From Bangkok to Chantaboun—A missionary journey in 1835 197 
CHAPTER XIV. 

Mouhot’s visit to Chantaboun and the islands of the gulf.... 225 
CHAPTER XV. 

Mouhot in the hill-country of Chantaboun. 238 

CHAPTER XYL 

Pechaburi or P’ripp’ree. 256 

CHAPTER XVII. 

From Bangkok to Birmah—Dr. Collins’s journey. 273 

CHAPTER XVHI. 

Varieties of Siamese life. 288 

CHAPTER XT X. 

Births, marriages, and deaths. 298 

CHAPTER XX 


Old and new Bangkok 


315 













CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER XXL 

Natural productions of Siam. . 

CHAPTER XXH. 

Christian missions in Siam—The outlook for the future 










































































LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


—•—- 

PAGE 

Ruins of a Temple and Statue of Buddha at 

Atuthia. Frontispiece 

Inundation of the Meinam.16 

Pagoda at Atuthia.26 

View taken from the Canal of Atuthia ... 36 

Ruins of a Pagoda at Atuthia.46 

The great tower of the Pagoda Wat Chang . . 56 

Details of the great tower of the Pagoda Wat Chang 60 

The reigning first King of Siam.70 

General view of Bangkok.81 

The late second King.92 

The present second King, George Washington . . 102 

The late first King and Queen.112 

One of the sons of the late first King . . . 126 

A few of the children of the late first King . .140 

Removal of the tuft of a young Siamese . . . 150 

Elephants in an enclosure or park at Ayuthia . .160 

View of Paknam on the Meinam.168 

Pagoda at Mount Phrabat.180 

View of the Mountains of Korat from Patawi . 192 

Lion Rock, at the entrance of the Port of Chantaboun 198 

Port of Chantaboun.226 

Monkeys playing with a Crocodile .... 236 

Siamese Actors. . . 250 

View of the Mountains of Pechaburi .... 256 

Portrait of Prince Khrom Luang.266 




viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

Siamese women.280 

Siamese rope-dancer.292 

Siamese ladies at dinner. 298 

Building erected at funeral of Siamese of high bank 308 
Building for the incremation of Siamese of high rank 312 
Hall of audience, palace of Bangkok .... 322 

Portico of the audience hall at Bangkok . . 326 

The new palace of the king of Siam, Bangkok . . 340 











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S I A M. 


CHAPTEE I. 


EARLY INTERCOURSE WITH SIAM.—RELATIONS WITH 
OTHER COUNTRIES. 

HE acquaintance of the Christian world with 



1 the kingdom and people of Siam dates from 
the beginning of the sixteenth century, and is due 
to the adventurous and enterprising spirit of the 
Portuguese. It is difficult for us, in these days when 
Portugal occupies a position so inconsiderable, and 
plays a part so insignificant, among the peoples of 
the earth, to realize what great achievements were 
wrought in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries by 
the peaceful victories of the early navigators and 
discoverers from that country, or by the military 
conquests which not seldom followed in the track of 
their explorations. It was while Alphonso d’Albu¬ 
querque was occupied with a military expedition in 
Malacca, that he seized the occasion to open diplo¬ 
matic intercourse with Siam. A lieutenant under 
his command, who was fitted for the service by an 



2 


SIAM. 


experience of captivity, during which he had ac¬ 
quired the Malay language, was selected for the 
mission. He was well received by the king, and 
came back to his general, bringing royal pre¬ 
sents and proposals to assist in the siege of 
Malacca. So cordial a response to the overtures of 
the Portuguese led to the more formal establishment 
of diplomatic and commercial intercourse. And be¬ 
fore the middle of the sixteenth century a consider¬ 
able number of Portuguese had settled, some of 
them in the neighborhood of the capital, (Ayuthia,) 
and some of them in the provinces of the peninsula 
of Malacca, at that time belonging to the kingdom 
of Siam. One or two adventurers, such as De 
Seixas and De Mello, rose to positions of great 
power and dignity under the Siamese king. And 
for almost a century the Portuguese maintained, if 
not an exclusive, certainly a preeminent right to the 
commercial and diplomatic intercourse which they 
had inaugurated. 

As in other parts of the East Indies, however, 
the Dutch presently began to dispute the suprem¬ 
acy of their rivals, and, partly by the injudicious 
and presumptuous arrogance of the Portuguese 
themselves, succeeded in supplanting them. The 
cool and mercenary cunning of the greedy Holland¬ 
ers was more than a match for the proud temper of 
the hot-blooded Dons. And as, in the case of Ja¬ 
pan, the story of Simabara lives in history to wit¬ 
ness what shameless and unscrupulous wickedness 
commercial rivalry could lead to ; so in Siam there 
is for fifty years a story of intrigue and greed, over- 


EARLY INTERCOURSE WITH SIAM. 


3 


reaching itself first on one side and then on the 
other. First, the Portuguese were crowded out of 
their exclusive privileges. And then in turn, the 
Dutch were obliged to surrender theirs. To-day 
there are still visible in the jungle, near the mouth 
of the Meinain River, the ruins of the Amsterdam 
which grew up between the years 1672 and 1725 , 
under the enterprise of the Dutch East India Com¬ 
pany, protected and fostered by the Siamese govern¬ 
ment. And to-day, also, the descendants of the 
Portuguese, easy to be recognized, notwithstanding 
the mixture of blood for many generations, hold in¬ 
significant or menial offices in the king’s court. 

As the result of the Portuguese intercourse with 
Siam, there came the introduction of the Christian 
religion by the Jesuit missionaries, who, as in China 
and Japan, were quick to follow in the steps of the 
first explorers. No hindrance was put in the way 
of the unmolested exercise of religious rites by the 
foreign settlers. Two churches were built; and the 
ecclesiastics in charge of the church at Ayuthia had 
begun to acquire some of that political influence 
which is so irresistible a temptation to the Roman 
Catholic missionary, and so dangerous a possession 
w hen he has once acquired it. It is probable enough 
(although the evidence does not distinctly appear) 
that this tendency of religious zeal towards politi¬ 
cal intrigue inflamed the animosity of the Dutch 
traders, and afforded them a convenient occasion 
for undermining the supremacy of their rivals. 
However this may be, the Christian religion did not 
make any great headway among the Siamese people. 


4 


SIAM. 


And while they conceded to the foreigners religious 
liberty, they showed no eagerness to receive from 
them the gift of a new religion. 

In the year 1604 the Siamese king sent an ambas¬ 
sador to the Dutch colony at Bantam, in the island 
of Java. And in 1608 the same ambassador ex¬ 
tended his journey to Holland, expressing “ much 
surprise at finding that the Dutch actually pos¬ 
sessed. a country of their own, and were not a na¬ 
tion of pirates, as the Portuguese had always insin¬ 
uated.” The history of this period of the inter¬ 
course between Siam and the European nations, 
abundantly proves that the shrewdness, the enter¬ 
prise, and the diplomatic skill were not on one side 
only. 

Between Siam and France there was no consider¬ 
able intercourse until the reign of Louis XIV., when 
an embassy of a curiously characteristic sort was 
sent out by the French monarch. The embassy 
was ostentatiously splendid, and made great profes¬ 
sion of a religious purpose no less important than 
the conversion of the Siamese king to Christianity. 
The origin of the mission was strangely interesting, 
and the record of it, even after the lapse of nearly 
two hundred years, is so lively and instructive that 
it deserves to be reproduced, in part, in another 
chapter of this volume. The enterprise was a fail¬ 
ure. The king refused to be converted, and was 
able to give some dignified and substantial reasons 
for distrusting the religious interest which his “ es¬ 
teemed friend, the king of France,” had taken “ in 
an affair which seems to belong to God, and which 


EARLY INTERCOURSE WI1E SIAM. 


5 


the Divine Being appears to Lave left entirely to 
our discretion.” Commercially and diplomatically, 
also, as well as religiously, the embassy was a fail¬ 
ure. The Siamese prime minister, (a Greek by 
birth, a Boman Catholic by religion,) at whose in¬ 
stigation the French king had acted, soon after was 
deposed from his office, and came to his death by 
violence. The Jesuit priests were put under re¬ 
straint and detained as hostages, and the military 
force which accompanied the mission met with an 
inglorious fate. A scheme which seemed at first to 
promise the establishment of a great dominion trib¬ 
utary to the throne of France, perished in its very 
conception. 

The government of Spain had early and some¬ 
what important relations with Siam, through the 
Spanish colony in the Philippine Islands ; and om 
One or more occasions there was an interchange of 
courtesies and good offices between Manilla and Ay- 
uthia. But the Spanish never had a foothold in the 
kingdom, and the occasional and unimportant inter¬ 
course referred to, ceased almost wholly until, during 
the last fifty years, and even the last twenty, a new 
era of commercial activity has brought the nations 
of Europe and America into close and familiar re¬ 
lations with the Land of the White Elephant. 

The relations of the kingdom of Siam with its 
immediate neighbors have been full of the vicissi¬ 
tudes of peace and war. There still remains some 
trace of a remote period of partial vassalage to the 
Chinese Empire, in the custom of sending gifts— 
which* were originally understood, by the recipients 


6 


STAM. 


at least, if not by the givers, to be tribute to Peking. 
With Birmah and Pegu on the one side, and with 
Cambodia and Cochin China on the other, there has 
been from time immemorial a state of jealous hos¬ 
tility. And the boundaries of Siam, eastward and 
westward, have fluctuated with the sucoesses or de¬ 
feats of the Siamese arms. Southward the deep 
gulf shuts off the country from any neighbors, 
whether good or bad. And for more than three 
centuries it has been the highway of a commerce of 
unequal importance, sometimes very active and re¬ 
munerative, and never wholly interrupted even in 
the period of the most complete reactionary seclu¬ 
sion of the kingdom. 

the new era in Siam may be commercially dated 
from the year 1854, when the existing treaties be¬ 
tween Siam on the one part, and Great Britain and 
the United States on the other part, were success¬ 
fully negotiated. But before this time, various in¬ 
fluences had been quietly at work to produce a 
change of such singular interest and importance. 
The change is indeed a part of that great move¬ 
ment by which the whole Oriental world has been 
re-discovered in our day ; by which China has been 
started on a new course of development and pro¬ 
gress ; by which Japan has been made to lay aside 
the hostile seclusion of two hundred years. It is 
hard to fix the precise date of a movement which is 
the result of tendencies so various and so numerous, 
and which is evidently, as yet, only at the beginning 
of its history. But the treaty negotiated by Sir 
John Bowring, as the ambassador of Great Britain, 


EARLY INTERCOURSE WITH SIAM. 


7 


and that negotiated by the Honorable Townsend 
Harris, as the ambassador of the United States, 
served to call public attention in those two countries 
to a land w T hich was previously almost unheard of 
except by geographical students. There was no 
popular narrative of travel and exploration. In¬ 
deed, there had been no travel and exploration much 
beyond the walls of Bangkok or the ruins of Ay- 
uthia. The German, Mandelslohe, is the earliest 
traveller who has left a record of what he saw and 
heard. His visit to Ayu-thia, to which he gave the 
name which subsequent travellers have agreed in 
bestowing on Bangkok, the present capital—“ The 
Yenice of the East”—was made in 1537. The 
Portuguese, Mendez Pinto, whose visit was made in 
the course of the same century, has also left a re¬ 
cord of his travels, which is * evidently faithful and 
trustworthy. We have also the records of various 
embassies, and the narratives of missionaries, (both 
the Koman Catholic, and, during the present cen¬ 
tury, the American Protestant missionaries,) who 
have found time, amid their arduous and discourag¬ 
ing labors, to furnish to the Christian world much 
valuable information concerning the people among 
whom they have chosen to dwell. 

Of these missionary records, by far the most 
complete and the most valuable is the work of 
Bishop Pallegoix, (published in French in the year 
1854,) entitled Description du Royaume Thai ou Siam. 
The long residence of the excellent Bishop in the 
country of' which he wrote, and in which, not many 
years afterward, (in 1862,) he died, sincerely la- 


8 


SIAM. 


merited and honored, fitted him to speak with intel¬ 
ligent authority. And his book was of especial 
value at the time when it was published, because the 
Western Powers were engaged that very year in the 
successful attempt to renew and to enlarge their 
treaties with Siam. To Bishop Pallegoix the Eng¬ 
lish envoy, Sir John Bowring, is largely indebted, 
as he does not fail to confess, for a knowledge of 
the history, manners and customs of the realm, 
which helped to make the work of his embassy more 
easy, and also for much of the material which gives 
the work of Bowring himself ( The Kingdom and 
People of Siam , 1857) its value. This work of Bow¬ 
ring has been for fifteen years the principal source 
of information to which English readers have had 
access, except as the more or less inadequate 
sketches of travel in newspapers and magazines 
made the name and history of the kingdom, and its 
surprising progress in civilization and enlightenment, 
familiar to the world. 

Since Sir John Bowring wrote, however, the in¬ 
terior of Siam has been largely explored, and espe¬ 
cially by one adventurous traveller, Henry Mouhot, 
who lost his life in the jungles of Laos, while en¬ 
gaged in his work of exploration. To him, more 
than to any other one man, we owe our knowledge 
of the interior of Siam, and of the adjoining and 
partly dependent countries, Laos and Cambodia. 
His narrative of adventure is always fresh and lively, 
and the impression which one receives of his per¬ 
sonal courage and good humor makes his volumes 
full of interest and entertainment. The scientific 


EARLY INTERCOURSE WITH SIAM. 


9 


results of his travel are unfortunately not given in 
such orderly completeness as would have been given 
to them had Mouhot lived to arrange and to sup¬ 
plement the details of his fragmentary and outlined 
journal. But notwithstanding these necessary de¬ 
fects, Mouhot’s book deserves a high place, as giv¬ 
ing the most adventurous exploration of a country 
which appears more interesting the more and better 
it is known. The great ruins of Ongkor Wat, for 
example, just beyond the boundary which separates 
Siam from Cambodia, were by him for the first time 
examined, measured, and reported with exact and 
detailed description. 

Another work of some value as giving an insight 
into the domestic life of the late king, was pub¬ 
lished in Boston, by Mrs. A. H. Leonowens, two years 
ago. 

To all of these works, as well as to the Bangkok 
Calendar, published for a number of years past, at 
the Siamese capital, (under the patronage of the 
government, and frequently with the most curious 
contributions from the pen of his late Majesty, the 
First King,) and also to some original materials in 
the possession of the compiler, the present volume 
will be indebted. 


CHAPTER II. 


GEOGRAPHY OF SIAM. 

ONCERNING a country, the boundaries of 



which are determined by the variable fortunes 
of more or less incessant war with neighbors to the 
east and to the west, it is difficult to speak with 
geographical exactness. The dominions of His 
Majesty the King of Siam extend in reality so far 
as, and no further than, the somewhat uncertnin 
success of his armies towards Birmah on the one 
hand, and towards Anam on the other, enable him 
to exact obedience and tribute. The Birmese have 
more than once been seen victorious in the valley of 
the Meinam, and even down to the shores of the 
Gulf, into which it empties. On the other hand, the 
territory of Siam has extended, not in name only, 
but in reality, to the western coast of the Malayan 
peninsula, and the waters of the Indian Ocean. 
Eastward, Cambodia lies uncomfortably squeezed 
between Siam and Cochin China, independent of 
neither, tributary to both. Northward, a moun¬ 
tain barrier defines more naturally and precisely the 
limits of the Chinese Empire on the one side, and 


GEOGRAPHY OF SIAM. 


11 


the kingdom of Siam upon the other. Somewhat 
loosely, we may say that the country stretches from 
the 4th to the 20tli or 22nd degree of north lati¬ 
tude, and between the 96th and 102nd degrees of 
east longitude. This calculation would give an 
area about 1,200 miles in length, but of unequal 
breadth ; in the extreme south measuring less than 
a hundred miles from east to west, but from the 13th 
to the 20th degree of latitude about four hundred 
miles. But even of this territory the sovereignty is, 
as has been said, uncertain; only as human nature 
is the same in Siam as elsewhere, it is safe to say 
that the government controls all that it can grasp, 
whether that be more or less. 

Evidently enough, however, it is about the great 
river of Siam—the Meinam—that the wealth and 
population of the country gathers. Almost as much 
as in the case of Egypt, it is a country of one great 
river and of one rich valley. % Kising among the 
snows of the mountain ranges, which form the 
watershed of the Indian Ocean—and which are a 
continuation eastward of the Himalayas—it pur¬ 
sues a direct course southward for eight hundred 
miles, dividing into several outlets, like the Nile, and 
reaching the Gulf through a flat, alluvial country 
and by three different mouths. The great fertile 
plain through which this river flows, thickly grown 
with jungle and forest, and of almost unlimited pro¬ 
ductiveness, constitutes the greater and more im¬ 
portant part of the Siamese realm. Northward the 
plain rises more and more into hills and mountain 
ranges, till the lofty summits of Yunan shut out all 


12 


SIAM. 


intercourse with neighbors who might, probably 
enough, prove dangerous. Hitherto unexplored, 
and, indeed, inaccessible, this region offers a fine 
field for adventure and for scientific discovery. The 
lamented Mouhot had penetrated about five hun¬ 
dred miles from the mouth of the Meinam, when 
death arrested his career at the height of its useful¬ 
ness and promise. 

In this great valley of the Meinam, as on the 
shores of the Gulf, are to be found (according to 
Sir John Bowring’s map) the names of the forty- 
one provincial stations, at each of which is resident 
a phaja, or functionary of the highest rank, who 
is responsible, for the government of the adjacent 
territory. These districts are distributed without 
any great geographical exactness into five north¬ 
ern, nine central, ten eastern, seven western, and 
ten southern. A single glance at the arrange¬ 
ment of these districts will suffice to show that 
the wealth and population of the people has gath¬ 
ered densely about the mouth of the bountiful 
“ mother of waters,” where the least possible amount 
of lazy exertion will produce*the greatest possible 
amount of the necessaries of life. 

On the westward the valley or plain of the Mei¬ 
nam is separated from Birmah by a chain of moun¬ 
tains which extend from north to south for a dis¬ 
tance of seven hundred miles and more, and run 
down as a kind of rocky spine into the Malayan 
peninsula. The inhabitants of these mountains, as 
also those of the mountains of the upper Meinam, 
are a somewhat hardier and nobler race than the 


13 


GEOGRAPHY OF SIAM. 

dwellers on the plain. In the western mountains 
are the Karen tribes, among whom the missionaries 
of the American churches, especially, have gained 
such signal successes, making the name of the Ka¬ 
rens famous throughout the Christian world. The 
Laos people in the north are in their physical struc¬ 
ture a little larger and stronger than the Siamese of 
the low country, and have also mental and moral 
qualities which give hopeful promise of advance¬ 
ment in civilization and religion in the new era 
which has dawned upon the Eastern world. 

In accordance with these natural divisions and 
their characteristics of race and temperament, the na¬ 
tive historian's of Siam have divided their country into 
two regions, the northern, Mouang Nona, at first the 
more populous portion, and Mouang Tai, the south¬ 
ern, which was settled later. The traditions of the 
country point to 4he northward and westward, be¬ 
yond the Himalayas, as the direction from which 
the stream of population descended. The chronicles 
of the south are sometimes called “ the chronicles 
of the royal city,” (Ayutliia,) and commence at the 
period when this .place became the capital. It is 
certain that prior to this date the -history is mythi¬ 
cal and full of mere tradition, more or less untrust¬ 
worthy. De Barrios, the Portuguese traveller of 
the fifteenth century, reports that in his time nine 
states were subject to the Siamese realm; but he 
makes two divisions only, which were peopled, by 
the Siamese race, and in which the Siamese lan¬ 
guage was spoken. Of these the southern was the 
region having Ayuthia for its capital; and in the 


14 


SIAM. 


name of the capital city of the northern region (as 
he gives it, Chaumua) it is not difficult to identify 
the name Chang Mai, by which the upper Meinam 
district is still called. 

Eastward the valley of the Meinam is divided 
from the valley of the great river of Cambodia, the 
Mekong, by a hill country which is a spur from the 
mountains of Yunan. It is by no means impass¬ 
able, and does not prevent the two kingdoms from 
being so closely united that it is often difficult to 
distinguish them, and to say where one leaves off 
and the other begins. 

The Gulf of Siam, which bounds the country 
southward, is easily navigable and comparatively 
free from the destructive fury of the typhoons which 
sometimes make such havoc with the commerce of 
the Indian Ocean and the China Seas. It has, how¬ 
ever, a peril of its own in the dangerous squalls 
which during the summer months come up almost 
unheralded and fall with brief but severe violence 
upon the navigator. Moreover, it is somewhat de¬ 
ficient in good harbors for ships of the largest ton¬ 
nage. A bar at the mouth of the Meinam obliges 
all except the smaller vessels to find anchorage in 
an open roadstead from six to ten miles from the 
shore. And the bar is not only an obstruction to 
navigation but a positive peril, as the editor of this 
volume has abundant reason to remember. In a 
gale of wind the breakers, are so dangerous that 
small boats cannot venture to cross the bar without 
the greatest risk of being swamped.' If the bar is 
once crossed, however, there is deep water and easy 


GEOGRAPHY OF SIAM. 


1 > 


navigation even for ships of the largest class, into 
the very midst of the city of Bangkok, thirty miles 
from the mouth of the river. Formerly the river 
was navigable for a much longer distance. The an¬ 
cient annals of Siam report that, in the seventh 
century, Chinese junks ascended the Meinam as far 
as Sangkhalok, which is a distance of one hundred 
and twenty leagues from the sea. At present the 
river is navigable to a distance of twenty leagues. 
On the eastern branch of the Meinam the rapids 
commence at Pak Priau, where the rowers leave the 
boats, and drag them, as they are able, through the 
rocks and foaming waters ; but they are often driven 
back by the impetuosity of the stream. There are 
about ten waterfalls within the space of seven or 
eight leagues, but none impassable, and during six 
months of the year the great floods cause them to 
disappear. 

These great floods, the regular inundation of the 
Meinam, constitute the great event of the year in 
Siam as does the inundation of the Nile in Egypt. 
An area of not far from twenty thousand square 
miles of territory is enriched by this annual over¬ 
flow, and so enriched as to make it, in fertility and 
productiveness, the very garden of the world. It is 
safe to say that no equal area on the face of the 
globe exceeds the valley of the Meinam in pos¬ 
sibilities of vegetable wealth. Some of the pheno¬ 
mena of the great inundation have been col¬ 
lected and recorded by Sir John Bo wring, and are 
of considerable interest and value. He says : 

“ The Meinam has its annual inundation. Impreg- 


1G 


SIAM. 


nated with the rich soil which it brings from the 
interior, in the month of June its waters begin to 
rise, and in August they overflow the banks to a 
height sometimes exceeding six feet above the ordi¬ 
nary level. In the first public audience I had with 
the first king, he called my attention to the inun¬ 
dation of the river as the main source of the fertility 
of the soil; the rice-fields become greener and 
more promising as the waters spread, which gener¬ 
ally remain till the month of November, the land hav¬ 
ing, the appearance of a lake. Boats traverse it in 
all directions, temporary canals being formed among 
the rice-fields to facilitate their circulation. Palle- 
goix affirms that though the high lands are sub¬ 
merged for several months, the lower regions of the 
country, at a distance of thirty miles from the sea, 
are never inundated, which he attributes to- the 
strength of the tide, which, in rising, drives back the 
descending waters with an irresistible force, and at 
the ebb they make their way by the ordinary 
stream to the ocean, so that they have no time to 
spread themselves over the adjacent lands. A fail¬ 
ure of the inundation is perdition to a large portion 
of the rice-crops. 

“ But the country sometimes suffers fearfully 
from these inundations. That of 1831 nearly des- 
troj^ed all the sugar plantations, and three or four 
feet of water continuing to cover the face of the 
country, almost all the cattle perished. The rice- 
harvest was seriously affected and the finest fruit- 
trees swept away, so that it was said only one durian 
tree was left in Siam. But fruit abounded—fruit of 


INUNDATION OF THE MEIN AM 




















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































• ■ . 1 







































GEOGRAPHY OF SIAM. 


17 


singular variety and excellence—in 1855, and the 
mischief of the floods appeared to be wholly re¬ 
paired. 

“ When the waters of the Meinam are supposed to 
have reached their highest point, the king deputes 
one hundred Bonzes (Buddhist priests) who are in¬ 
structed to command the inundation to proceed no 
further. These functionaries embark on state bar¬ 
ges, issue the royal mandate to the waters, bidding 
them turn back in their course, and they accompany 
their intervention with exorcisms, which are some¬ 
times ineffectual, and show that the falling of the 
waters is no more subject to the commands of the 
sovereign of Siam than were the tides on the British 
shores controlled by the Danish king.” 

So wet a country as this ought naturally to be a 
good place for fish. And accordingly we find, on 
the authority of Bishop Pallegoix, some fish stories 
of an extraordinary character, which almost make 
credible those other stories of^he steamboats on our 
Western rivers which can run wherever it is a little 
damp. Says Sir John Bowring : 

“ In ascending and descending the Meinam I was 
amused with the novel sight of fish leaving the river 
—gliding over the wet banks and losing themselves 
among the trees of the jungle. Pallegoix asserts 
that such fish will wander more than a league from 
the water. ‘ Some years ago,’ I translate his 
words, ‘ a great heat had dried up all the ponds in 
the neighborhood of Ayuthia ; during the night tor¬ 
rents of rain fell. Next day, going for a walk into 
the country, how great was my surprise at seeing the 


18 


SIAM. 


ponds almost full, and a quantity of fish leaping 
about. Whence have these fish come ? I inquired 
of a laborer: yesterday there was not one ! He said 
they were come under favor of the rain. In 1831, 
when fish were uncommonly cheap, the Bishop of 
Siam thought fit to buy a supply of living fish, and 
lie poured fifty cwt. into his ponds ; but in less than 
a month nine tenths escaped during a rain that fell 
in the night. There are three species of this wan¬ 
dering fish, called pla-xon, pla-duk, pla-mo. The first 
is voracious, and about the size of a carp ; salted and 
dried, it can be preserved for a year; it is very abun¬ 
dant, is exported to China, Singapore and Java, and 
is a particularly wholesome and health-giving fish. 

“The dog's-tongue is a fish shaped like the sole ; it 
attaches itself to the bottom of boats, and makes 
a sonorous noise, which is more musical when sev¬ 
eral are stuck to the same bank and act in concert.” 

“ Kampfer (one of the oldest and most authorita¬ 
tive of Oriental travellers,) puts forth the theory that 
were it not for the vast pains it would require to 
trace out its several channels through the forests 
and deserts, and to open a navigation, it might be 
possible for vessels to go hence from (Siam) to Ben¬ 
gal.” Of the Meinam he remarks that the inunda¬ 
tions are the results of the dissolving of the snow in 
the mountainous regions, aided by the heavy rains ; 
that the land water is nitrous, the river sweet and 
wholesome ; that though the flow of water is natur¬ 
ally towards the sea, the inundations principally 
benefit the upper and middle regions ; that the fer¬ 
tility of the soil is such that the rice grows as fast as 


GEOGRAPHY OF SIAM. 


19 


the water rises, and that the ripe ears are gathered 
by the reapers, and the straw, often of incredible 
length, left in the water, and that if the absence of 
the north wind prevent the return of the waters to 
their ordinary channel, there is a great creation of 
malaria , whose effects are most pernicious to the 
public health, and are sought to be warded off by 
imposing and costly religious ceremonies through 
the whole country.” 

Before dismissing the subject of the geography of 
Siam we ought to mention the proposal made by Sir 
John Bowring for a ship canal across the peninsula 
of Malacca at its northern end. In one place, at about 
the latitude 11°, the direct passage across the pen¬ 
insula would be only fifty miles. If it should be 
found, upon investigation, that the mountain ridge, 
which runs through the peninsula like a back-bone, 
can be penetrated without too great difficulty and 
expense, the undertaking would be more than justi¬ 
fied. At present in all voyages between India and 
Eastern Asia there is necessary a long detour south¬ 
ward through the straits of Malacca and then north¬ 
ward among the perilous islands of the Malayan ar¬ 
chipelago. All this might be avoided, making a 
saving of days and even weeks if the canal suggested 
by Sir John Bowring should be practicable. It 
would bring Siam at once into the highway of com¬ 
merce. The comparative seclusion of this rich and 
interesting kingdom, hitherto, has been in part owing 
to the fact that it was off the highway. To reach it 
required that one should turn aside from the great 
route between the opulent and populous realms of 


20 


SIAM. 


India and China, and traverse the unknown waters 
of a broad gulf, ill-supplied with harbors. It is 
scarcely to be wondered at if Siam was forced to 
wait its turn till almost all the Oriental world was re¬ 
discovered ; till even Japan had been brought into 
the fellowship Of nations, before its intercourse with 
Western countries began to be familiar and cordial. 
If Bowring’s scheme should prove not to be vision¬ 
ary, the geographical relations of Siam would in¬ 
stantly become exceedingly important. 


CHAPTEE III. 


OLD SIAM—ITS HISTORY. 


HE date at which any coherent and trust- 



1 worthy history of Siam must commence, is 
the founding of the sacred city of Ayuthia, (the 
former capital of the kingdom,) in the year 1350 of 
the Christian era. Tradition, more or less obscure 
and fabulous, does indeed reach back into the re¬ 
mote past so far as the fifth century, B.C. Accord¬ 
ing to the carefully arranged chronology of Bishop “ 
Pallegoix, gathered from the Siamese annals, which 
annals however are declared by his majesty, the late 
king, to be “ all full of fable, and are not in satis¬ 
faction for believe,” the origin of the nation can be 
traced back, if not into indefinite space of time, at 
least into the vague and uncertain “ woods,” and 
ran on this wise : 

“ There were two Brahminical recluses dwelling 
in the woods, named Satxanalai, and Sittlnmong- 
kon, coeval with Plua Khodom, (the Buddha,) and 
one hundred and fifty years of age, who having 
called their numerous posterity together, counselled 
them to build a city having seven walls, and then 


22 


SIAM. 


departed to the woods to pass their lives as her¬ 
mits. 

“ But their posterity, under the leadership of 
Bathamarat, erected the city Savanthe valok, or 
Sangkhalok, about the year 300 of the era of Phra 
Kliodom, (B.O. about 243.) 

“ Bathamarat founded three other cities, over 
which he placed his three sons. The first he ap¬ 
pointed ruler in the city of Ilaripunxai, the second 
in Kamphoxa nakhon, the third in Phetxabun. 
These four sovereignties enjoyed, for five hundred 
years or more, the uttermost peace and harmony 
under the rule of the monarchs of this dynasty.” 

The places named in this chronicle are all in the 
valley of the upper Meinam, in the “ north coun¬ 
try,” and the fact of most historical value which the 
chronicle indicates is that the Siamese came from 
the north and from the west, bringing with them 
the government and the religion which they still 
possess. The most conspicuous personage in these 
ancient annals is one Phra Ruang, “ whose advent 
and glorious reign had been announced by a com- 
i munication from Gandama himself, and who pos¬ 
sessed, in consequence of his merits, a white ele¬ 
phant with black tusks,” he introduced the Thai al¬ 
phabet, ordained a new era which is still in vogue, 
married the daughter of the emperor of China, and 
consolidated the petty princedoms of the north 
country into one sovereignty. His birth was fabu¬ 
lous and his departure from the world mysterious. 
He is the mythic author of the Siamese History. 
Born of a queen of the Nakhae, (a fabulous race 


OLD SIAM—ITS HISTORY. 


23 


dwelling under the earth,) who came in the way of 
his father, the King of Haripunxai, one day when 
the king had “ retired to a mountain for the pur¬ 
pose of meditation, he was discovered accidentally 
by a huntsman, and was recognized by the royal 
ring which his father had given to the lady from 
the underworld. When he had grown up, he en¬ 
tered the court of his father, and the palace trem¬ 
bled. He was acknowledged as the heir, and his 
great career proceeded with uninterrupted glory. 
At last he went one day to the river and disap¬ 
peared.” It was thought he had rejoined his mo¬ 
ther, the Queen of the.Nakhae, and would pass the 
remainder of his life in the realms beneath. The 
date of Phra Huang’s reign is given as the middle 
of the fifth century of the Christian era. 

After him, there came successive dynasties of 
kings, ending with- Phaja Uthong, who reigned 
seven years in northern Cambodia, but being 
driven from his kingdom by a severe pestilence, or 
having voluntarily abandoned it, (as another ac¬ 
count asserts,) in consequence of explorations which 
had discovered “ the southern country,” and found 
it extremely fertile and abundant in fish, he emi¬ 
grated with his people and arrived at a certain 
island in the Meinam, where he “ founded a new 
city, Krung theph maha nakhon Siajuthaja—a great 
town impregnable against angels : Siamese' era 711, 
A.D. 1349.” 

Here, at last, we touch firm historic ground, al¬ 
though there is still in the annals a sufficient ad¬ 
mixture of what the late king happily designates 


24 


SIAM 


as “ feable.” The foundations of Ayuthia, the new 
city, were laid with extraordinary care. The 
soothsayers were consulted, and decided that “ in 
the 712th year of the Siamese era, on the sixth 
day of the waning moon, the fifth month, at ten 
minutes before four o’clock, the foundation should 
be laid. Three palaces were erected in honor of 
the king ; and vast countries, among which were 
Malacca, Tennasserim, Java, and many others 
whose position cannot now be defined, were claimed 
as tributary states.” King Uthong assumed the 
title Phra-Rama-thi-bodi, and after a reign of 
about twenty years in his new capital handed 
down to his son and to a long line of successors, 
a large, opulent, and consolidated realm. The 
word Phra, which appears in his title and in that 
of almost all his successors to the present day, is 
said by Sir John Bowring to be “ probably either 
derived from or of common origin with the Pha¬ 
raoh of antiquity.” But the resemblance between 
the words is simply accidental, and the connec¬ 
tion which he seeks to establish is not for a mo¬ 
ment to be admitted. 

His majesty the late king of Siam, a man of 
remarkable character and history, was probably, 
while he lived, the best informed authority on all 
matters relating to the history of his kingdom. 
Fortunately, being a man of scholarly habits and 
literary tastes, he has left on record a concise and 
readable historical sketch, from which we cannot 
do better than to make largo quotations, supple¬ 
menting it when necessary with details gathered 


OLD SIAM—ITS HISTORY. 


25 


from other sources. The narrative begins with 
the foundation of the royal city Ayuthia, of which 
an account has already been given on a previous 
page. The method of writing the proper names 
is that adopted by the king himself, who was ex¬ 
act, even to a pedantic extent, in regard to such 
matters. The king’s English, however, which w'as 
often droll and sometimes unintelligible, has in 
this instance been corrected by the missionary 
under whose auspices the sketch was first pub¬ 
lished. 

“ Ayuthia when founded was gradually improved 
and became more and more populous by natural 
increase, and the settlement there of families of 
Laos, Kambujans, Peguans, people from Yunnan 
in China, who had been brought there as captives, 
and by Chinese and Mussulmans from India, who 
came for the purposes of trade. Here reigned 
fifteen kings of one dynasty, successors of and be¬ 
longing to the family of U-T’ong Kama-thi-bodi, 
who, after his death, was honorably designated 
as Phra Chetha Bida— i. e. ‘ Royal Elder Brother 
Father.’ This line was interrupted by one inter¬ 
loping usurper between the thirteenth and four¬ 
teenth. The last king was Maliintra-thi-rat. Dur¬ 
ing his reign the renowned king of Pegu, named 
Chamna-dischop, gathered an immense army, qon- 


* No attempt at uniformity in this respect has been made by 
the editor of this volume ; but, in passages quoted from dif¬ 
ferent authors, the proper names are written and accented ac¬ 
cording to the various methods of those authors. 



2 6 


SIAM ,; 


sisting of Peguans, Birmese, and inhabitants of 
northern Siam, and made an attack upon Ayuthia. 
The ruler of northern Siam was Maha-thamma 
raja related to the fourteenth king as son-in-law, 
and to the last as brother-in-law. 

“ After a siege of three months the Peguans 
took Ayuthia, but did not destroy it or its inhab¬ 
itants, the Peguan monarch contenting himself 
with capturing the king and royal family, to take 
with him as trophies to Pegu, and delivered the 
country over to be governed by Maha-thamma 
raja, as a dependency. The King of Pegu also 
took back with him the oldest son of Mah£- 
thamma raja as a hostage : his name was Phra 
Ndret. This conquest of Ayuthia by the king 
of Pegu took place A. D. 1556. 

“ This state of dependence and tribute continued 
but a few years. The king of Pegu died, and in 
the confusion incident to the elevation of his son 
as successor, Prince- Naret escaped with his fam¬ 
ily, and, attended by many Peguans of influence, 
commenced his return to his native land. The 
new king, on hearing of his escape, despatched 
an army to seize and bring him back. They 
followed him till he had crossed the Si-thong 
(Birman Sit-thaung) Biver, where he turned against 
the Peguan army, shot the commander, who fell 
from his elephant dead, and then proceeded in 
safety to Ayuthia. 

“War with Pegu followed, and Siam again be¬ 
came independent. On the demise of MaM- 
thamma raja, Prince N^ret succeeded to the throne, 


VHJLLUAV Oi? VUUUVd 






































































































































































































OLD SIAM—ITS HISTORY. 


27 


and became one of the mightiest and most re¬ 
nowned rulers Siam ever had. In his wars with 
Pegu, he was accompanied by his younger broth¬ 
er, Eka-tassa-rot, who succeeded Ndret on the 
throne, but on account of mental derangement 
was soon removed, and Phra-Siri Sin Ni-mon- 
tham was called by the nobles from the priest¬ 
hood to the throne.” 

With the accession of this last-mentioned sov¬ 
ereign begins a new dynasty. But before repro¬ 
ducing the chronicles of it, we may add a few 
words concerning that which preceded. 

This dynasty had lasted from the founding of Ay- 
uthia, A. D. 1350, until A. D. 1602, a period of two 
hundred years. Its record shows, on the whole, a 
remarkable regularity of succession, with perhaps 
no more intrigues, illegitimacies, murders, and as¬ 
sassinations than are to be found in the records of 
Christian dynasties. Temples and palaces were 
built, and among other works a gold image of Bud¬ 
dha is said to have been cast, (in the city of Pichai, 
in the year A. D. 1380,) “which weighed fifty-three 
thousand catties, or one hundred and forty-one 
thousand pounds, which would represent the almost 
incredible value (at seventy shillings per ounce) of 
nearly six millions sterling. The gold for the gar¬ 
ments weighed two hundred and eighty-six catties.” 
Another great image of Buddha, in a sitting pos¬ 
ture, was cast from gold, silver, and copper, the 
height of which was fifty cubits. 

One curious tradition is on record, the date of 
which is at the beginning of the 15th century. 


28 


SIAM. 


On the death of King Intharaxa, the sixth of the 
dynasty, his two eldest sons, who were rulers of 
smaller provinces, hastened, each one from his home, 
to seize their father’s vacant throne. Mounted on 
elephants,‘they hastened to Ayuthia, and by strange 
chance arrived at the same moment at a bridge, 
crossing in opposite directions. The princes were 
at no loss to understand the motive each of his 
brother’s journey. A contest ensued upon the 
bridge—a contest so furious and desperate that both 
fell, killed by each other’s hands. One result of 
this tragedy was to make easy the way of the young¬ 
est and surviving brother, who, coming by an undis¬ 
puted title to the throne, reigned long and prosper¬ 
ously. 

During some of the wars between Pegu and Siam, 
the hostile kings availed themselves of the services 
of Portuguese who had begun, by the middle of the 
sixteenth century, to settle in considerable numbers 
in both kingdoms. And there are still extant the 
narratives of several historians, who describe with 
characteristic pomposity and extravagance, the 
magnificence of the military operations in which 
they bore a part. One of these wars seems to have 
originated in the jealousy of the king of Pegu, who 
had learned, to his great disgust, that his neighbor 
of Siam was the fortunate possessor of no less than 
seven white elephants, and was prospering mightily 
in consequence. Accordingly he sent an embassy 
of five hundred persons to request that two of the 
seven sacred beasts might be transferred as a mark 
of honor to himself. After some diplomacy the 


OLD SIAM—ITS HISTORY. 29 

Siamese king declined—not that he loved his neigh¬ 
bor of Pegu less—but that he loved the elephants 
more, and that the Peguans were (as they had them¬ 
selves acknowledged) uninstructed in the manage¬ 
ment of white elephants, and had, on a former oc¬ 
casion, almost been the death of two of the ani¬ 
mals of which they had been the owners, and had 
been obliged to send them to Siam to save their 
lives. The king of Pegu, however, was so far from 
regarding this excuse as satisfactory, that he waged 
furious and victorious war, and carried off not two 
but four of the white elephants which had been 
the casus belli . It seems to have been in a cam¬ 
paign about this time that, when the king of Siam 
was disabled by the ignominious flight of the war 
elephant on which he was mounted, his queen, 
“ clad in the royal robes, with manly spirit fights 
in her husband’s stead, until she expires on her 
elephant from the loss of an arm.” 

It is related of the illustrious Plira Naret, of 
whom the royal author, in the passage quoted on 
a previous page, speaks with so much admiration, 
that being greatly offended by the perfidious*con¬ 
duct of his neighbor, the king of Cambodia, he 
bound himself by an oath to wash his feet in the 
blood of that monarch. “ So, immediately on find¬ 
ing himself freed from other enemies, he assailed 
Cambodia, and besieged the royal city of Lavlk , 
having captured which, he ordered the king to be 
slain, and his blood having been collected in a golden 
ewer, he w r ashed his feet therein, in the presence oi 
his courtiers, amid the clang of trumpets.” 


30 


SIAM. 


The founder of the second dynasty is famous in 
Siamese history, as the king in whose reign was dis¬ 
covered and consecrated the celebrated footstep of 
Buddha, Phra Bat, at the base of a famous moun¬ 
tain to the eastward of Ayuthia. Concerning him 
the late king, in his historical sketch, remarks : 

“ He had been very popular as a learned and 
religious teacher, and commanded the respect of all 
the public counsellors ; but he was not of the royal 
family. His coronation took place A. D. 1602. 
There had preceded him a race of nineteen kings, 
excepting one usurper. The new king submitted all 
authority in government to a descendant of the for¬ 
mer line of kings, and to him also he intrusted his 
sons for education, reposing confidence in him as 
capable of maintaining the royal authority over all 
the tributary provinces. This officer thus became 
possessed of the highest dignity and power. His 
master had been raised to the throne at an advanced 
age. During the twenty-six years he was on the 
throne he had three sons, born under the royal 
canopy— i. e. the great white umbrella, one of the 
insignia of royalty. 

“ After the demise of the king, at an extreme old 
age, the personage whom he had appointed as re¬ 
gent, in full council of the nobles, raised his eldest 
son, then sixteen years old, to the throne. A short 
time after, the regent caused the second son to be 
slain, under the pretext of a rebellion against his 
elder brother. Those who were envious of the re¬ 
gent, excited the king to revenge his brother’s death 
as causeless, and plan the regent’s assassination; 


OLD SIAM—ITS HISTORY. 


31 


but he, being seasonably apprised of it, called a 
council of the nobles and dethroned him after one 
year’s reign, and then raised his youngest brother, 
the third son, to the throne. 

“He was only eleven years old. His extreme 
youth and fondness for play, rather than politics or 
government, soon created discontent. Men of of¬ 
fice saw that it was exposing their country to con¬ 
tempt, and sought for some one who might fill the 
place with dignity. The regent was long accustomed 
to all the duties of the government, and had enjoyed 
the confidence of their late venerable king ; so, with 
one voice, the child was dethroned and the regent 
exalted under the title of Phra Chau Pra Satb-thong. 
This event occurred A. D. 1630,” and forms the 
commencement of the third dynasty. 

“ The king was said to have been connected with 
the former dynasty, both paternally and maternally ; 
but the connection must have been quite remote 
and obscure. Under the reign of the priest-king he 
bore the title Eaja Suriwong, as indicating a remote 
connection with the royal family. From him de¬ 
scended a line of ten kings, who reigned at Ayuthia 
and Lopha-buri—Louvo of French writers. This 
line was once interrupted by an usurper between 
the fourth and fifth reigns. This usurper was the 
foster-father of an unacknowledged though real son 
of the fourth king, Chau Nardi. During his reign 
many European merchants established themselves 
and their trade in the country, among whom was 
Constantine Fhaulkon (Faulkon). He became a 
great favorite through his skill in business, his sug- 


32 


SIAM. 


gestions and superintendence of public works after 
European models, and by liis presents of many 
articles regarded by the people of those days as 
great curiosities, such as telescopes, etc. 

“ King Narai, the most distinguished of all Siam¬ 
ese rulers, before or since, being highly pleased with 
the services of Constantine, conferred on him the 
title of Chau Phya Wicha-yentr^-the-bodi, under 
which title there devolved on him the management 
of the government in all the northern provinces of 
the country. He suggested to the king the plan of 
erecting a fort on European principles as a protec¬ 
tion to the capital. This was so -acceptable a pro¬ 
posal, that at the king’s direction he was authorized 
to select the location and construct the fort. 

“ He selected a territory which was then em¬ 
ployed as garden-ground, but is now the territory 
of Bangkok. On the west bank, near the mouth of 
a canal, now called Bang-luang, he constructed a 
fort, which bears the name of Wichayeiw Port to 
this day. It is close to the residence of his Royal 
Highness Chanfa-noi Kromma Khun Isaret rangsan. 
This fort and circumjacent territory was called Tha- 
na-buri. A wall was erected, enclosing a space of 
about 100 yards square. Another fort was built on 
the east side of the river, where the walled city of 
Bangkok now stands. The ancient name Bangkok 
was in use when the whole region was a garden.* 


* Such names abound now, as Bang-cha, Bang-phra, Bang-pla- 
soi, etc.; Bang signifying a small stream or canal, such as is seen 
in gardens. 



OLD SIAM—ITS HISTORY. 


33 


The above-mentioned fort was erected about the 
year A. D. 1675. 

“ This extraordinary European also induced his 
grateful sovereign king Nardi to repair the old city 
of Lopha-buri, (Louvo,) and construct there an ex¬ 
tensive royal palace on the principles of European 
architecture. On the north of this palace Constan¬ 
tine erected an extensive and beautiful collection of 
buildings for his own residence. Here also he built 
a Romish church, on which are still to be seen some 
inscriptions in European letters, supposed to be 
Dutch or German; they assuredly are neither French 
nor English (perhaps they are Greek, as he was of 
Greek extraction, and born at Cephalonia). The 
ruins of all these edifices and their walls are still to 
be seen, and are said to be a great curiosity. It is 
moreover stated that he planned the construction of 
canals, with reservoirs at intervals for bringing 
water from the mountains on the northeast to the 
city Lopha-buri, and conveying it through earthen 
and copper pipes and siphons, so as to supply the 
city in the dry season on the same principle as 
that adopted in Europe. He commenced also a 
canal, with embankments, to the holy place called 
Phra-Bat, about twenty-five miles southwest from 
the city. He made an artificial pond on the summit 
of Phra-Bat mountain, and thence, by means of 
copper tubes and stop-cocks, conveyed abundance 
of water to the kitchen and bath-rooms of the royal 
residence at the foot of the mountain. His works 
were not completed when misfortune overtook 
him. 


34 


SIAM. 


“ Many Siamese officers and royal ministers were 
jealous of his influence, and murmured their suspi¬ 
cions of his being a secret rebel. At length he was 
accused of designing to put the king to death by in¬ 
viting him to visit the church he had built, between 
the walls of which, it is said, he had inserted a quan¬ 
tity of gunpowder, which was to be ignited by a 
match at a given signal, and thus involve the death 
of the king. On this serious charge he was assas¬ 
sinated by private order of the king. (This is the 
traditional story ; the written annals state that he 
was slain in his sedan while faithful to his king, by 
order of a rebel prince, who perceived he could not 
succeed in his nefarious plans against the throne 
while Constantine lived.) The works which he left 
half done are now generally in ruins, viz. the canal 
to Phra-Bat and the aqueduct at the mountains. 

“ After the demise of Ndr^ti, his unacknowledged 
son, born of a princess of Yunnan or Chiang-Mai, and 
intrusted for training to the care of Phya Petcha 
raja, slew Nar^i’s son and heir, and constituted his 
foster-father king, himself acting as prime minister 
till the death of his foster-father, fifteen years after; 
he then assumed the royal state himself. He is or¬ 
dinarily spoken of as Nai Dua. Two of his sons and 
two of his grandsons subsequently reigned at Ayu- 
thia. The youngest of these grandsons reigned only 
a short time, and then surrendered the royal author¬ 
ity to his brother and entered the priesthood. While 
this brother reigned, in the year 1759, the Birman 
king, Meng-luang Alaung Barah-gyi, came with an 
immense army, marching in three divisions on as 


OLD SIAM—ITS HISTORY. 


35 


many distinct routes, and combined at last in the 
siege of Ayuthia. 

“The Siamese king, Chaufa Ekadwat Anurak 
Moutri, made no resolute effort of resistance. His 
great officers disagreed in their measures. The in¬ 
habitants of all the smaller towns were indeed called 
behind the walls of the city, and ordered to defend 
it to their utmost ability 7 ’; but jealousy and dissen¬ 
sion rendered all their bravery useless. Sallies and 
skirmishes were frequent, in which the Birmese 
were generally the victorious party. The siege was 
continued for two years. The Birmese commander- 
in-chief; MaM Noratha, died, but his principal offi¬ 
cers elected- another in his place. At the end of the 
two years, the Birmese, favored by the dry. season, 
when the waters were shallow, crossed in safety, bat¬ 
tered the walls, broke down the gates, and entered 
without resistance. The provisions of the Siamese 
were exhausted, confusion reigned, and the Birmese 
fired the city and public buildings. The king, badly 
wounded, escaped with his flying subjects, but soon 
died alone of his wounds and his sorrows. He was 
subsequently discovered and buried. 

“ His brother, who was in the priesthood, and now 
the most important personage’ in the country, was 
captured by the Birmans, to be conveyed in tri¬ 
umph to Birmah. They perceived that the country 
was too remote from their own to be governed by 
them ; they therefore freely plundered the inhaDit- 
ants, beating, wounding and even killing many fam¬ 
ilies, to induce them to disclose treasures which they 
supposed were hidden by them. By these measures 


36 


SIAM. 


tlie Birmese officers enriched themselves with most 
of the wealth of the country. After two or three 
months spent in plunder, the}" appointed a person of 
Mon or Peguan origin as ruler over Siam, and 
withdrew with numerous captives, leaving this Pe¬ 
guan officer to gather fugitives and property to con¬ 
vey to Birmah at some subsequent opportunity. 
This officer was named Phrd Nai Kong, and made 
his headquarters about three miles north of the city, 
at a place called Pho Sam-ton, i. e., ‘ the three Sa¬ 
cred Fig-trees.’ One account relates that the last 
king mentioned above, when he fled from the city, 
wounded, was apprehended by a party of travellers 
and brought into the presence of Phya Nai Kong in 
a state of great exhaustion and illness; that he was 
kindly received and respectfully treated, as though 
he was still the sovereign, and that Phya Nai Kong- 
promised to confirm him again as a ruler of Siam, 
but his strength failed and he died a few days after 
his apprehension. 

“ The conquest by Birmah, the destruction of 
Ayuthia, and appointment of Phy4 Nai Kong took 
place in March, A.D. 1767. This date is unquestion¬ 
able. The period between the foundation of Ayu¬ 
thia and its overthrow by the Birmans embraces 417 
years, during which there were thirty-three kings of 
three distinct dynasties, of which the first dynasty- 
had nineteen kings with one usurper ; the second had 
three kings, and the third had nine kings and one 
usurper. 

“ When Ayuthia was conquered by the Birmese, 
in March, 1767, there remained in the country many 


VIEW TAKEN FROM THE CANAL OF AYUTHTA 



































































































































































































































































































































































































































Cl 






OLD SIAM—ITS HISTORY. 


37 


bands of robbers associated under brave men as 
their leaders. These parties had continued their 
depredations since the first appearance of the Bir¬ 
man army, and during about two years had lived by 
plundering the quiet inhabitants, having no govern¬ 
ment to fear. On the return of the Birman troops 
to their own country, these parties of robbers had 
various skirmishes with each other during the year 
1767. 

“The first king established at Bangkok was an 
extraordinary man, of Chinese origin, named Pin 
Tat. He was called by the Chinese, Tia Sin Tat, or 
Tuat. He was born at a village called Bantak, in 
Northern Siam, in lat. 16° N. The date of his birth 
was in March, 1734. At the capture of Ayuthia he 
was thirty tnree years old. Previous to that time 
he had obtained the office of second governor of his 
own township, Tak, and he next obtained the office 
of governor of his own town, under the dignified title 
of Phy4 T4k, which name he bears to the present 
day. During the reign of the last king of Ayuthia, 
he was promoted to the office and dignity of govern¬ 
or of the city of Kam-Cheng-philet, which from times 
of antiquity was called the capital of the western 
province of Northern Siam. He obtained this office 
by bribing the high minister of the king, Chauffi 
Ekadwat Anurak Moutri; and being a brave war¬ 
rior, he was called to Ayuthia on the arrival of the 
Birman troops as a member of the council. But 
when sent to resist the Birman troops, who were 
harassing the eastern side of the city, perceiving that 
the Ayuthian government was unable to resist the 


38 


SIAM. 


enemy, he, with his followers, fled to Chautaburi, 
(Chautabun,) a town on the eastern shore of the 
Gulf of Siam, in lat. 12J° N. and long. 101° 21' E. 
There he united with many brave men, who were 
robbers and pirates, and subsisted by robbing the 
villages and merchant-vessels. In this way he be¬ 
came the great military leader of the district, and 
had a force of more than ten thousand men. He 
soon formed a treaty of peace with the headman of 
Bangplasoi, a district on the north, and with Kam- 
buja and Annam (or Cochin China) on the south¬ 
east.” 

With the fall of Ayuthia and the disasters inflict¬ 
ed by the Birman army ended the third dynasty 
in the year 1767. So complete was the victory of 
the Birmese, and so utter the overthrow of the 
kingdom of Siam, that it was only after some 
years of disorder and partial lawlessness that the 
realm became reorganized under strong centralized 
authority. The great military leader, to whom 
the royal chronicle from which we have been quot¬ 
ing refers, seems to have been pre-eminently the 
man for the hour. By his patient sagacity, joined 
with bravery and qualities of leadership which are 
not often found in the annals of Oriental warfare, 
he succeeded in expelling the Birmese from the 
capital, and in reconquering the provinces which, 
during the period of anarchy consequent on the 
Birmese invasion had asserted separate sovereign¬ 
ty and independence. The war which about this 
time broke out-between Birmah and China made 
this task of throwing off the foreign yoke more 


OLD SIAM—ITS HISTORY. 


39 


easy. And his own good sense and judicious ad¬ 
mixture of mildness with severity conciliated and 
settled the disturbed and disorganized provinces. 
Notably was this the case in the province of Li- 
gor, on the peninsula, where an alliance with the 
beautiful daughter of the captive king, and present¬ 
ly the birth of a son from the princess, made it 
easy to attach the government of that province, 
(and incidentally of the adjoining provinces,) by 
ties of the strongest allegiance to the new dynasty. 

Joined with Phyd Tak, in his adventures and 
successes as his confidential friend and helper, 
was a man of noble birth and vigorous charac¬ 
ter, who was, indeed, scarcely the inferior of 
the great general in ability. This man, close¬ 
ly associated* with Phya Tak, became at last his 
successor. For, at the close of his career, and 
after his great work of reconstructing the kingdom 
was fully accomplished, Phya Tak became insane. 
The bonzes, (or priests of Buddha,) notwithstand¬ 
ing all that he had done to enrich the temples of 
the new capital, (especially in bringing from Laos 
“ the emerald Buddha which is the pride and 
glory of Bangkok at the present day,”) turned 
against him, declaring that he aspired to the 
divine honor of Buddha himself. His exactions of 
money from his rich subjects, and his deeds of 
cruelty and arbitrary power towards all classes 
became so intolerable, that a revolt took place in 
the city, and the king fied for safety to a neigh¬ 
boring pagoda, and declared himself a member of 
the priesthood. For a while his refuge in the mo- 


40 


SIAM. 


nastery availed to save his life. But presently his 
favorite general, either in response to an invitation 
from the nobles, or else prompted by his own am¬ 
bition, assumed the sovereignty and put his friend 
and predecessor to a violent death. The accession 
of the new king, (who seems to have shared 
the dignity and responsibility of government with 
his brother,) was the commencement of the pres¬ 
ent dynasty, to the history of which a new chap¬ 
ter may properly be devoted. But before pro¬ 
ceeding with the history, we interrupt the narrative 
to give in greater detail a strange and romantic 
episode, to which allusion has been already made, 
in the story of Constantine Phaulcon. 


CHAPTER IV. 


THE STORY OF CONSTANTINE PHAULCON. 

HE sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the 



1 era of geographical discovery and explora¬ 
tion, were the golden age of adventurers. But 
probably among all who either successfully or un¬ 
successfully sought their fortune in the new realms 
of the remote East or of the West there was 
none whose story is so full of interest, exhibiting 
such vicissitudes of experience, such depths of 
misfortunes, such heights of success, as does the 
story of the Greek adventurer Constantine Phaulcon. 
Stripping it of all the extravagant embellishments 
with which the devout priest who wrote his biog¬ 
raphy has adorned it,—and questioning, as we 
fairly may, whether the odor of sanctity which 
the good father attributes to him is fully his 
right,—the story is still remarkable enough to de¬ 
serve a conspicuous place in the annals of travel, 
exploration, and adventure. It reads rather like 
some chapter from the Arabian Nights, and reminds 
us of the voyages of Sinbad and his fellows, rath¬ 
er than the sober fact of well authenticated his- 


42 


SIAM. 


torj. For the details of the narrative we are in¬ 
debted to the French work, Histoire de M. Con¬ 
stancei, (as he is frequently called,) par le Fere 
d' Orleans, a Jesuit. The account was printed at 
Tours, in 1690, and was translated by Sir John 
Bowring, and given in the appendix of his own 
work on Siam. 

“ Constantine Falcon, so well known under the 
name of M. Constance, was of Venetian origin, 
but born in Greece, his father being the son of a 
governor of Cephalonia, his mother a native of 
that island and of an ancient and honorable fam¬ 
ily. His parents were unfortunate or unskillful, 
and their nobility weighed heavily upon their pov¬ 
erty. 

“ M. Constance was scarcely ten years old when 
he became aware of his unfortunate condition and 
felt it keenly. He did not, however, lose time in 
lamentations, but with a courage above his 
years, he formed the resolution of endeavoring to 
raise himself ; and, that no time might be lost, 
he determined to leave his native land where he 
foresaw that he should meet with many obstacles 
to his advancement. As commerce attracts to 
Cephalonia many English merchants, the young 
Constance joined a captain of that nation and ac¬ 
companied him to England. A short time after, 
he embarked for the Indies in one of the vessels 
of the East India Company, in whose se rvice he 
engaged. 

“ He arrived in Siam ” holding as Kampfer 
tells us, the office of coxswain on board the vessel 


THE STORY OF CONSTANTINE PHAULCON. 43 

to which he belonged, “ and after several years’ 
service, weary of continuing a subaltern, he pur¬ 
chased a ship, and, full of the courage which 
never forsook him, he put to sea in order to trade 
with the neighboring kingdoms. 

“ Two shipwrecks rapidly following one another, 
at the mouth of the Siam River,” where the dan¬ 
gerous bar continues to the present day to make 
navigation perilous, “ would have discouraged any 
other person, and a third, upon the coast of Mal¬ 
abar, would have made him despair, had he been 
of a less steadfast and determined spirit. He had 
nearly lost his life, and of all his possessions only 
two thousand crowns remained to him. 

“ Cast upon shore with this wreck of his for¬ 
tune, he found himself so much fatigued that he 
laid himself down to sleep. He has often related 
that at this moment he saw (whether in a dream he 
cannot tell, since he has never felt sure whether 
he was waking or sleeping) a person of a remark¬ 
able countenance and majestic air, who, smiling, 
upon him, desired him to return whence he came. 
These words, which he heard or supposed himself 
to have heard, long dwelt upon his mind ; and 
as he had lain down at the approach of night, he 
passed the whole of it in reflecting upon what 
had just happened. 

Continuing his reveries in the morning, he walked 
up and down by the water’s edge. He perceived 
in the distance a man rapidly approaching him. 
He had no difficulty in discovering that it was a 
traveller who, like himself, had escaped from ship- 


44 


SIAM. 


wreck ; his pale countenance and dripping garments 
sufficiently testified to the fact. The resemblance 
of their several fates made each impatient to ap¬ 
proach and become acquainted with the other. 
The difference of language might have proved an 
obstacle ; but at the first words of the stranger 
M. Constance recognized the Siamese tongue, in 
which he immediately replied. Thus they found in 
their misfortuue the consolation of being able to 
speak of it, and at length another consequence 
ensued. 

“ The unknown was an ambassador whom the 
king of Siam had sent to Persia, and who on the 
way homeward had been shipwrecked in the same 
place as M. Constance. If the latter had been 
one of those who find consolation for their own 
troubles in those of another, he might have been 
comforted in seeing a man worse off than himself, 
the ambassador having saved only his own life, of 
all that he had on board his ship; and among the 
sentiments of pity inspired by so melancholy a 
condition, M. Constance had the pleasure, even in 
his own misfortunes, of assisting an unhappy man. 
He did not wait to be asked to do what he could, 
but immediately offered to take him back to Siam ; 
and this offer being accepted by the ambassador, 
he expended the two thousand crowns which were 
left him in the purchase of a barque, provisions, 
and raiment for himself and his companion. 

“ Now that they had no longer anything to lose, 
their navigation was prosperous: they reached 
Ayuthia without any unlucky contretemps and had 


THE STOR Y OF CONSTANTINE PHA ULCON. 45 

there the pleasure of relating their adventures—the 
ambasador to his relations, and M. Constance to 
his friends. 

“ The Siamese was not ungrateful for the assist¬ 
ance he had received from the Greek. He had no 
sooner rendered an account of his negotiations to 
the Baradan (prime minister) than he mentioned 
his benefactor, and spoke in detail of the obligations 
he owed him. He praised him so warmly that 
this minister, who was himself an intelligent man, 
and admired what was good in others, was desirous 
of making his acquaintance, and at the first inter¬ 
view was so much delighted with him that he de¬ 
termined to make use of him. After a time, having 
seen much of his skill in business, and of his great- 
probity, he felt it was desirable that the King 
should have such a man about him. 

“ The late King of Siam was, by the admission 
of all who travelled in the Indies, one of the most 
enlightened princes of the East, who quickly pene¬ 
trated into character, and had the greatest regard 
for intelligence. His prime minister, for whom he 
had much respect, had spoken so highly of M. 
Constance as to give a very favorable impression of 
him; but having more than once occasion to prove 
his real value and capability, the esteem in which 
he already held him was greatly increased. 

“ It is said that M. Constance was first taken 
into favor from the address with which he sup¬ 
planted the Moors in the employment, which seemed 
to have been made over to them, of preparing such 
things as were necessary for the magnificent enter- 


46 


SIAM. 


tainment of embassies, on which the King greatly 
piqued himself. The enormous sums drawn from 
the treasury by these infidels having astonished 
the sovereign, M. Constance undertook the office, 
and succeeded in arranging everything in much 
more splendid style, at far less expense. It is re¬ 
ported that the Moors having presented a memorial 
setting forth that the king owed them a large sum 
of money for advances they had made, M. Constance, 
who examined their accounts, made it evident that, 
on the contrary, they owed his majesty more than 
sixty thousand crowns, as they were themselves 
obliged to acknowledge. The king of Siam eco¬ 
nomized, that he might spend on fit occasions ; 
and he was so well pleased with the judicious sav¬ 
ing of M. Constance, as to make use of his services 
in other and more difficult affairs. 

“His credit became so great that the highest 
mandarins paid court to him ; but his prosperity 
was interrupted by severe illness, which had nearly 
carried him off. For a time this was concealed 
from the king, probably to avoid distressing him; 
but he expressed great regret at this instance of 
discretion, and gave his physicians so strict an 
order to do everything in their power for the re¬ 
covery of their patient, that he was soon out of 
danger. 

“M. Constance was born of Catholic parents ; 
but the education he had received among the Eng¬ 
lish during ten years of his life had insensibly caused 
him to embrace the Anglican faith, in which he had 
continued up to this time.” 





















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































■ 






























‘'*5 


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. ■ 






v' .. 

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. . v 1 

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' 



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. y , .., '.V- 

• '•> ' ■ -. v > •»> . 




THE STORY OF CONSTANTINE PHAULCON. 47 


Just at this time, however, a Flemish Jesuit, Father 
Antoine Thomas, passing through Siam on his way 
to join the Portuguese missions in Japan and China, 
and seeing the opportunity of great religious and po¬ 
litical achievements to be secured by the conversion 
of so powerful a man to the Roman Catholic Church, 
“ adroitly,” as the narrative states, led the way 
to controversial points and interested his proposed 
convert in the schemes with which his own mind 
was filled. The sickness which had well-nigh proved 
fatal to Phaulcon was turned to good account by the 
Jesuit ; and the fear of dying out of the pale of the 
true church was dexterously employed. And at last 
the zealous Father Thomas had the satisfaction of 
receiving from Phaulcon abjuration of his errors and 
heresies and numbering him among the faithful. 
By the advice of Father Thomas, also, who, though 
himself of necessity a celibate, had great confidence 
in the sacrament of marriage as a means of grace for 
others, “ he married, a few days after, a young Jap¬ 
anese lady of good family, distinguished not only by 
rank but also by the blood of the martyrs from whom 
she was descended, and whose virtues she imitates. 
He ever lived with his noble partner in such peace 
and harmony as might be a model to all who are 
united by the sacrament of marriage. The king and 
all his nobles offered him congratulations and hand¬ 
some presents, and the Catholics testified great 
pleasure on the occasion. 

“ The course of M. Constance’s prosperity was so 
rapid, that the Baraclan dying, the king wished to 
bestow upon him the vacant office, which is the 


48 


SIAM. 


highest in the State. He, however, prudently ex¬ 
cused himself, fearing, in the dawn of his prosperity, 
to excite the jealousy of the mandarins ; but though 
refusing the position, he fulfille d nearly all the du¬ 
ties connected with it ; for every affair of importance 
was referred to him, and the king had such entire 
confidence in him that he w T as the channel of all the 
requests of the people and of all the favors of the 
sovereign. 

“ If, as a man of talent, he knew how to avail 
himself of the royal favor to establish his own 
fortune, he used it no less faithfully for the glory of 
his master and the good of the State ; still more, as 
a true Christian, for the advancement of religion. 
Up to this time he had* aimed chiefly to increase 
commerce, which occupies the attention of Oriental 
sovereigns far more than politics, and had succeeded 
so well that the king of Siam was now one of the 
richest monarchs of Asia ; but he considered that, 
having enriched, he should ,now endeavor to render 
his sovereign illustrious, by making known to for¬ 
eign nations the noble qualities which distinguished 
him ; and his chief aim being the establishment of 
Christianity in Siam, he resolved to engage his mas¬ 
ter to form treaties of friendship with those Euro¬ 
pean monarchs who were most capable of advanc¬ 
ing this object.” 

It was not long before Pliaulcon, in the influen¬ 
tial position which he occupied as, practically, the 
chief minister of State, was able to induce the king 
of Siam to send an embassy requesting relations of 
more intimate friendship with the king of France,. 


THE STOR Y OF CONSTANTINE PHA ULCON. 49 


whose greatness and glory had been represented in 
tho most favorable light. According to the Jesuit 
biographer the chief aim of Pliaulcon in his diplo¬ 
macy was the good of the church and the conversion 
of the heathen king and of his people to the true 
faith. According to old Kampfer, who seems an 
honest and matter of fact chronicler as far as 
his ability extends, Phaulcon was aware that his 
tenure of authority was insecure, and that, all the 
more because he had risen to so high a position was 
he liable to fall from it. The better to secure him¬ 
self in this authority, therefore, says Kampher, “ he 
thought it necessary to secure it by some foreign 
power, of which he judged the French nation to be 
the most proper for seconding his designs, which ap¬ 
peared even to aim at the royal dignity. In order 
to do this, he made his sovereign believe that by 
the assistance of the said nation, he might polish 
his subjects and put his dominion into a flourishing 
condition.” 

Under whatever motive or combination of motives 
he acted, it is certain that Phaulcon carried his 
point, and an embassy was sent to the court of Louis 
XIV. and a cordial response received. The Cheva¬ 
lier de Chaumont was sent out as the bearer of ro} r al 
gifts and letters, accompanied by a considerable ret¬ 
inue. He arrived with his two ships of war at the 
bar of the Meinam on the 24th of September, 1685, 
and the story of his reception by the king and court 
of Siam is so like the narrative of similar ceremonies 
in our own day that to quote the description of it 
would be to anticipate what will be more fully given 


50 


SIAM. 


in another chapter. It is enough to say that the 
shipwrecked adventurer, who had risen from the 
petty office of coxswain on board an English ves¬ 
sel to the post of prime minister of a rich and pow¬ 
erful kingdom, found himself receiving on terms of 
equality and in a style of splendor and magnificence 
which even to European eyes appeared admirable, 
the ambassador of the most illustrious king in Eu¬ 
rope. Whether his loyalty to the sovereign whom 
he was bound to serve was always quite free from 
intrigue and subservience to the French king is 
more than doubtful. And he seconded the appeal 
of the ambassador to Phra Narai to become a con¬ 
vert to the church of Pome, with such energy and 
zeal as won for him the warmest commendation of 
M. de Chaumont, who was surprised that “ an un¬ 
learned man who, from the age of ten, had been con¬ 
tinually occupied in commerce and business,” should 
have managed the case so well. “ I could not but 
assure him,” says the Chevalier, without fearing to 
flatter, that “ the most consummate theologian could 
not have given a more satisfactory answer to the 
king’s objections.” Those objections however were 
insurmountable, and the king refused to be convert¬ 
ed to the church of the Jesuits or to theiF^political 
plans and purposes. 

Phaulcon “had long thought,” says Pere d’Or- 
leans, “ of bringing to Siam Jesuits who, like those 
in China, might introduce the Gospel at Court 
through the mathematical sciences, especially astron¬ 
omy. Six Jesuits, having profited by so good an oc¬ 
casion as that of the embassy of the Chevalier de 



THE STOAy OF CONSTANTINE PHAULCON. 51 


Chaumont, to come to Siam, whence they were to 
proceed to China, M. Constance had no sooner seen 
them than he reSolved to beg that some might be 
sent to him from France ; and it was for this especial 
object that Father Tachard, one of the six who had 
accompanied M. de Chaumont, and in whom M. 
Constance had especial confidence, was requested to 
return to Europe. 

“ While the enlightened zeal of M Constance 
caused him to take these measures for establishing 
religion in Siam, his policy, no less wise, led him to 
devise others for adding to the glory and security of 
the king, his master. This distinguished minister 
was well aware that the sovereign could not favor 
the Christian religion without drawing upon himself 
and his family two classes of dangerous enemies— 
the talapoins , with those of the Siamese who were 
zealous for their pagodas, or who wished to appear 
so, and the Mohammedans, who hoped to induce the 
king to embrace the Koran, which an ambassador 
from Persia had just brought over to Siam. 

“ It was to propose to the king of France the plan 
which he had conceived, that M. Constance arranged 
the embassy of the three mandarins who arrived in 
France with M. de Chaumont in 1686. The appro¬ 
bation shown by his majesty of the project of his 
minister, and all that he did to facilitate its execu¬ 
tion, show how well he thought of it. The principal 
article of the treaty was, that the king should send 
over some French troops to the king of Siam, not 
only to instruct his own in our discipline, but also to 
be at his disposal according as he should need them 


52 


SIAM. 


for the security of his person, or for that of his king¬ 
dom. In the mean time, the king of Siam would 
appoint the French soldiers to guard two places, 
where they would be commanded by their own offi¬ 
cers, under the authority of this monarch. 

“ After the treaty was ratified, the troops assem¬ 
bled and the twelve missionaries chosen, everything 
being in readiness for the return of the ambassadors 
of the king of Siam, they set out on the expedition 
of 1686, an account of which Father Tachard has 
given to the public, with remarks as full and as in¬ 
teresting as those which accompanied his report of 
the first voyage. 

“ The Mohammedans had long flattered themselves 
with the hope of inducing the king and people of 
Siam to accept the Koran; but when they saw the 
monarch thus closely allying himself with Chris¬ 
tians, their fears were excited ; and the great differ¬ 
ence which had been made between the French and 
Persian ambassadors, in the honors shown them in 
their audiences with his majesty, had so much in¬ 
creased the apprehensions of the infidels that they 
resolved to avert the apprehended misfortune by at¬ 
tempting the life of the king. The authors of this 
evil design were two princes of Champa and a prince 
of Macassar, all of them refugees in Siam, where the 
king had offered them an asylum against some pow¬ 
erful enemies of their own countries. A Malay cap¬ 
tain encouraged them by prophecies which he circu¬ 
lated among the zealots of his own sect, of whom he 
shortly assembled a sufficient number to carry out 
the conspiracy, had it not been discovered; which, 


THE STORY OF CONSTANTINE PHAULCON. 53 

however, it was, though the princes of Champa, who, 
having a brother in the service of the king, and at 
that moment with the court at Louvo, forwarded to 
him a letter of warning, but so mal-a-projoos, and in 
so strange a manner, that, suspecting something 
wrong, though he knew not what, he carried the 
letter to M. Constance without breaking the seal. 

“ The activity of the minister carried him to Ayu- 
tliia as soon as he had perused the letter and re¬ 
ceived orders from the king, his master. On arriv¬ 
ing, he discovered that the governor, who had re¬ 
ceived notice of the conspiracy from one of the ac¬ 
complices, had taken such good precautions, that the 
conspirators, who had already assembled, finding 
their plot discovered, had retired to their own dwel¬ 
lings. M. Constance profited by their consternation 
to publish an amnesty in favor of those who con¬ 
fessed their crime and asked forgiveness. All did 
so except the prince of Macassar and those of his 
nation who, having obstinately refused to implore 
the king’s clemency, at length experienced his 
justice. 

“The Macassars are the bravest and most deter¬ 
mined warriors of the East. When they are closely 
pressed, they swallow opium, which produces a 
species of intoxication, or rather fury, in which they 
forget danger and fight desperately. 

“ M. Constance took measures for attacking cau¬ 
tiously men from whom he expected so much resist¬ 
ance ; but he exposed his own person on this occa¬ 
sion with the resolution of a gallant man, pressing 
upon the furious troop at the head of a few brave 


54 


SIAM. 


soldiers, and always turning where the danger was 
greatest, so that five or six of his own people were 
killed beside him. The Macassar prince, who sought 
his life, having perceived him, prepared to throw 
his dart; but the minister having placed himself in 
a position to ward off the blow, the prince directed 
his javelin against an English captain. The cap¬ 
tain dodged ; but the prince was not so fortunate as 
to escape a musket-ball aimed at him by a French¬ 
man, which killed him on the spot. This terminated 
the combat, in which the victory gained by the min¬ 
ister rendered the king, his master, more absolute 
over his own people, and more than ever formidable 
to his enemies. 

“ The whole kingdom was yet ringing with the 
praises which this vigorous action drew upon M. 
Constance, when the French vessels arrived. MM. 
de la Loubere and Ceberet, envoys extraordinary of 
the king for the execution of the treaty, had a con¬ 
test with the Court of Siam upon the ceremonial to 
be observed, which, in the first instance, caused a 
difference between them and M. Constance, and 
afterwards brought about some bitter disputes on 
other subjects. In essentials the service did not 
suffer, M. Constance steadily pursuing his aim, 
which was the alliance of the two kings for the es¬ 
tablishment of religion. The French troops were 
directed to guard Bangkok and Merguy, the two 
posts in the whole kingdom most advantageous for 
the interests of commerce. 

“ M. Constance had alreaxly so high an esteem 
*wul so tender a regard for our great king, and the 


THE STORY Of CONSTANTINE PHAULCON. 55 

king of Siam, liis master, had entered so entirely 
into his sentiments, that this sovereign, thinking the 
French troops were not sufficiently near his person, 
determined to ask from the king, in addition to the 
troops already landed, a company of two hundred 
body-guards. As there was much to arrange be¬ 
tween the two monarchs for the establishment of 
religion, not only in Siam, but in many other places 
where M. Constance hoped to spread it, they resolved 
that Father Tachard should return to France, ac¬ 
companied by three mandarins, to present to his 
majesty the letter from their king ; and that he 
should thence proceed to Borne, to solicit from the 
Pope assistance in preserving tranquillity and spread¬ 
ing Christianity in the Indies. 

“ Father Tachard having received from the king 
and his minister the necessary orders, left his com¬ 
panions under the direction of M. Constance, and 
quitted Siam, accompanied by the envoys extraor¬ 
dinary of the king, at the beginning of the year 
1686. He reached Brest in the month of July in 
the same year. 

“ Never was negotiation more successful. Occu¬ 
pied as was the king in waging war with the greater 
part of Europe, leagued against him by the Protest¬ 
ant party, he made no delay in equipping vessels to 
convey to the king of Siam the guards which he had 
requested.” 

It is certainly not surprising that some of the 
Siamese noblemen should have looked with suspicion 
on the extraordinary measures which Phaulcon had 
inaugurated. With a French military force in pos- 


56 


SIAM. 


session of some of the most important points in the 
kingdom, and with the Roman Catholic religion se¬ 
curing for itself something like a dominant estab¬ 
lishment, it is no wonder that conspiracies against 
the authors of the new movement should be repeated 
and ultimately successful. The king had no male 
heir ; and it seemed to a nobleman named Pitraxa 
that the succession might as well come to him as to 
the foreigner who had already risen to such a dan¬ 
gerous authority. This time the conspiracy was 
more audaciously and triumphantly carried out. 
The king, who was beginning to grow old and infirm, 
was taken sick, and during his illness Pitraxa got 
possession of the royal seals, and by means of them 
secured supplies of arms and powder for the fur¬ 
therance of his designs. The crisis rapidly ap¬ 
proached. Phaulcon determined to arrest the chief 
conspirator, but was for once outwitted. The 
French forces which he summoned to his assistance 
were intercepted and turned back by a false report. 
Pitraxa made himself master of the palace, of the 
person of the king, and of all the royal family. It 
was evident to Phaulcon that the end had come. 
His resolution was taken accordingly. 

“ Having with him a few Frenchmen, two Portu¬ 
guese, and sixteen English soldiers, he called these 
together, and, with his confessor, entered his chapel 
that he might prepare for the death which appeared 
to await him ; whence passing into his wife’s cham¬ 
ber, he bade her farewell, saying that the king was 
a prisoner, and that he would die at his feet. He 
then went out to go direct to the palace, flattering 










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THE GREAT TOWER OF THE PAGODA WAT CHANG 




















































































































































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THE STORY OF CONSTANTINE PHAJJLCON 


57 


liimself that with the small number of Europeans 
who followed him, he should be able to make his 
way through the Indians who endeavored to arrest 
him, so as to reach the king. He would have suc¬ 
ceeded had his followers been as determined as him¬ 
self ; but on entering the first court of the palace, 
he was suddenly surrounded by a troop of Siamese 
soldiers. He was putting himself into a defensive 
attitude when he perceived that he was abandoned 
by all his suite except the French, so that the con¬ 
test was too unequal to be long maintained. He 
was obliged to yield to the force of numbers; and 
he and the Frenchmen with him were made prison¬ 
ers and loaded with irons.” 

It remained for the usurper to rid himself of the 
French soldiers, who were still in possession of the 
two most considerable places in the country. Under 
a false pretext he won over to himself, temporarily, 
the commander of the French forces. “ Upon this, 
six French officers who were at court, finding their 
safety endangered, resolved to leave and retire to 
Bangkok. They armed themselves, mounted on 
horseback, and under pretence of a ride, easily 
escaped from the guard Pitraxa had appointed to 
accompany them. It is true that, for the one they 
had got rid of, they found between Louvo and the 
river troops at different intervals, which, however, 
they easily passed. On reaching the river, they dis¬ 
covered a boat filled with talapoins, which they 
seized, driving away its occupants. As, however, 
they did not take the precaution of tying down the 
rowers, they had the vexation of having them 


58 


SIAM 


escape under cover of the night, each swimming 
away from his own side of the boat. Compelled to 
row it themselves, they soon became so weary that 
they determined to land, and continue their journey 
on foot. This was not without its difficulties, as the 
people, warned by the talapoins whose boat had 
been seized, and by the fugitive rowers, assembled 
in troops upon the river-side, uttering loud cries. 
Notwithstanding this, they leaped out, and gained 
the plains of Ayuthia, where, most unfortunately, they 
lost their way. The populace still followed them, 
and though not venturing to approach very near, 
never lost sight of them, and continued to annoy 
them as much as possible. They might, after all, 
have escaped, had not hunger compelled them to 
enter into a parley for a supply of provisions. In 
answer, they were told that they would not be 
listened to until they had laid down their arms. 
Then these cowardly wretches, instead of furnishing 
them with provisions, threw themselves upon them, 
stripped them, and carried them bound to Ayuthia, 
whence they were sent back to Louvo most unwor¬ 
thily treated. A troop of three hundred Moham¬ 
medans, which Pitraxa on learning their flight sent in 
pursuit of them, and which met them on their re¬ 
turn, treated them so brutally that one named Brecy 
died from the blows they inflicted. The rest were 
committed to prison on their arrival at Louvo. 

“ From this persecution of the French fugitives, 
the infidels insensibly passed to persecuting all 
the Christians in Siam, as soon as they learned 
that M. Desfarges was on the road to join Pit- 


THE STORY OF CONSTANTINE PHAULCON. 59 


raxa ; for from that time the tyrant, giving way to 
the suspicions infused by crime and ambition, no 
longer preserved an appearance of moderation to¬ 
wards those he hated. His detestation of the 
Christians had been for some time kept within 
bounds by the esteem he still felt for the French; 
but he had no sooner heard of the deference 
shown by their general to the orders he had sent 
him, than, beginning to fear nothing, he spared 
none. 

“ As the prison of M. Constance was in the in¬ 
terior of the palace, no one knows the details of 
his sufferings. Some say, that to make him con¬ 
fess the crimes of which he was accused, they 
burned the soles of his feet ; others, that an iron 
hoop was bound round his temples. It is certain 
that he was kept in a prison made of stakes, load¬ 
ed with three heavy chains, and wanting even the 
necessaries of life, till Madame Constance, having 
discovered the place of his imprisonment, ob¬ 
tained permission to furnish him with them. 

“ She could not long continue to do so, being 
soon herself in want. The usurper had at first 
appeared to respect her virtue, and had shown her 
some degree of favor : he had restored her son, 
who had been taken from her by soldiers, and ex¬ 
culpated himself from the robbery. But these 
courtesies were soon discontinued. The virtues of 
Madame Constance had for a time softened the fe¬ 
rocity of the tyrant ; but the report of her wealth, 
which he supposed to be enormous, excited his 
cupidity, which could not in any way be appeased. 


60 


SIAM. 


“ On the 30th of May, the official seals of her 
husband were demanded from her ; the next day, 
his arms, his papers, and his clothes were carried 
off: another day, boxes were sealed, and the keys 
taken away ; a guard was placed before her dwell¬ 
ing, and a sentinel at the door of her room to keep 
her in sight. Hitherto nothing had shaken her 
equanimity ; but this last insult so confounded 
her, that she could not help complaining. ‘ What,’ 
exclaimed she, weeping, ‘ what have I done to be 
treated like a criminal?’ This, however, was the 
only complaint drawn by adversity from this no¬ 
ble Christian lady during the whole course of her 
trials. Even this emotion of weakness, so pardon¬ 
able in a woman of two-and-twenty who had hith¬ 
erto known nothing of misfortune, was quickly re¬ 
paired ; for two Jesuits who happened to be with 
her on this occasion, having mildly represented to 
her that Christians who have their treasure in 
heaven, and who regard it as their country, should 
not afflict themselves like pagans for the loss of 
wealth and freedom—‘ It is true,’ said she, recov¬ 
ering her tranquillity ; £ I was wrong, my Fathers. 
God gave all ; He takes all away : may His holy 
name be praised! I pray only for my husband’s de¬ 
liverance.’ 

“ Scarcely two days had elapsed after the placing 
of the seals, when a mandarin, followed by a hun¬ 
dred men, came to break them by order of his new 
master, and carried off all the money, furniture and 
jewels he found in the apartments of this splendid 
palace. Madame Constance had the firmness her- 


































































































































































































































V 



« 








WE STORY OF CONSTANTINE PHAULCON. 61 

self to conduct him, and to put into his hands all 
that he wished to take ; after which, looking at the 
Fathers, who still continued with her, 4 Now,’ said 
she, calmly, 4 God alone remains to us ; but none 
can separate us from Him.’ 

“ The mandarin having retired with his booty, it 
was supposed she was rid of him, and that nothing 
more could be demanded from those who had been 
plundered of all their possessions. The two Jesuits 
had left to return to their own dwelling, imagining 
there could be nothing to fear for one who had been 
stripped of her property, and who, having commit¬ 
ted no crime, seemed shielded from every other 
risk. In the evening it appeared that they were 
mistaken ; for, about six o’clock, the same manda¬ 
rin, accompanied by his satellites, came to demand 
her hidden treasures. 4 I have nothing hidden,’ she 
^answered : 4 if you doubt my word, you can look ; 
you are the master here, and everything is open.’ 
So temperate a reply appeared to irritate the ruf¬ 
fian. 4 I will not seek,’ said he, 4 but, without stir¬ 
ring from the spot, I will compel you to bring me 
what I ask, or have you scourged to death.’ So 
saying, the wretch gave the signal to the execution¬ 
ers, who came forward with cords to bind, and thick 
rattans to scourge her. These preparations at first 
bewildered the poor woman, thus abandoned to the 
fury of a ferocious brute. She uttered a loud cry, 
and throwing herself at his feet said, with a look 
that might have touched the hardest heart, 4 Have 
pity on me !’ But this barbarian answered with his 
accustomed fierceness, that he would have no mer- 


62 


SIAM. 


cy on her, ordering her to be taken and tied to the 
door of her room, and having her arms, hands and 
fingers cruelly beaten. At this sad spectacle, her 
grandmother, her relatives, her servants, and her 
son uttered cries which would have moved any one 
but this hardened wretch. The whole of the un- 
happy family cast themselves at his feet, and touch¬ 
ing the ground with their foreheads, implored mer¬ 
cy, but in vain. He continued to torture her from 
seven to nine o’clock ; and not having been able to 
gain anything, he. carried her off, with all her ’ fami¬ 
ly, except the grandmother, whose great age and se¬ 
vere illness made it impossible to remove her. 

“ For some time no one knew what had become 
of Madame Constance, but at last her position was 
discovered. A Jesuit Father was one day passing 
by the stables of her palace, when the lady’s aunt, 
who shared her captivity, begged permission of the 
guards to address the holy man, and ask him for 
money, promising that they should share it. In 
this manner was made known the humiliating con¬ 
dition of this unhappy and illustrious lady, shut up 
in a stable, where, half dead from the sufferings 
she had endured, she lay stretched upon a piece of 
matting, her son at her side. The Father daily 
sent her provisions, which were the only means of 
subsistence for herself and family, to whom she 
distributed food with so small a regard for her own 
wants, that a little rice and dried fish were all that 
she took for her own share, she having made a vow 
to abstain from meat for the rest of her life. 

“ Up to this time, the grand mandarin had not 


TEE STORY OF CONSTANTINE P11AULC0N. * 63 

ventured to put an end to the existence of M. Con¬ 
stance, whom the French general had sent to de¬ 
mand, as being under the protection of the king, 
his master ; but now, judging that there was noth¬ 
ing more to fear either from him or from his 
friends, he resolved to get rid of him. It was on 
the 5th of June, Whitsun-eve, that he ordered his 
execution by the Phaja Sojatan, bis son, after hav¬ 
ing, without any form of trial, caused to be read in 
the palace the sentence of death given by himself 
against this minister, whom he accused of having 
leagued with his enemies. This sentence pro¬ 
nounced, the accused was mounted on an elephant, 
and taken, well guarded, into the forest of Thale- 
Phutson, as if the tyrant had chosen the horrors of 
solitude to bury in oblivion an unjust and cruel 
deed. 

“ Those who conducted him remarked that dur¬ 
ing the whole way he appeared perfectly calm, 
praying earnestly, and often repeating aloud the 
names of Jesus and of Mary. 

“ When they reached the place of execution, he 
was ordered to dismount, and told that he must 
prepare to die. The approach of death did not 
alarm him ; he saw it near as he had seen it at a 
distance, and with the same intrepidity. He asked 
of Sojatan only a few moments to finish his prayer, 
which he did kneeling, with so touching an air, that 
these heathens were moved by it. His petitions 
concluded, he lifted his hands towards heaven, and 
protesting his innocence, declared that he died wil¬ 
lingly, having the testimony of his conscience that, 


64 


SIAM 


as a minister, he had acted solely for the glory of 
the true God, the service of the king, and the wel¬ 
fare of the state ; that he forgave his enemies, as 
he hoped himself to be forgiven by God. ‘ For the 
rest, my lord,’ said he, turning to the Sojatan, 
‘ were I as guilty as my enemies declare me, my 
wife and my son are innocent : I commend them 
to your protection, asking for them neither wealth 
nor position, but only life and liberty.’ Having ut¬ 
tered these few words, he meekly raised his eyes to 
heaven, showing by his silence that he was ready 
to receive the fatal blow. 

“ An executioner advanced, and cut him in two 
with a back stroke of his sabre, which brought him 
to the ground, heaving one last, long sigh. 

“ Thus died, at the age of forty-one, in the very 
prime of life, this distinguished man, whose sub¬ 
lime genius, political skill, great energy and pene¬ 
tration, warm zeal for religion, and strong attach¬ 
ment to the king, his master, rendered him worthy of 
a longer life and of a happier destiny. 

“ Who can describe the grief of Madame Con¬ 
stance at the melancholy news of her husband’s 
death ? 

“ This illustrious descendant of Japanese mar¬ 
tyrs was subjected to incredible persecutions, which 
she endured to the end with heroic constancy and 
wonderful resignation.” 

From this edifying narrative, grandiloquent and 
devout by turns, and written from the Jesuit point 
of view, it is sufficiently surprising to turn to 
Kampfer’s brief and prosaic account of the same 


THE STORY OF CONSTANTINE PHAULCON. 65 

events. According to him the intrigue and treach¬ 
ery was wholly on the side of Phaulcon, who had 
planned to place on the throne the king’s son-in- 
law, Moupi-Tatso, a dependent and tool of his own, 
as soon as the sick king, whose increasing dropsy 
threatened him with sudden dissolution, should be 
dead; Pitraxa and his sons, the king’s two bro¬ 
thers, as presumptive heirs to the crown, and who¬ 
ever else was like to oppose the conspirator’s de¬ 
signs, were to be despatched out of the way. “ Pur¬ 
suant to this scheme, Moupi’s father and relations 
had already raised 1,400 men, who lay dispersed 
through the country ; and the better to facilitate 
the execution of this design, Phaulcon persuaded 
the sick king, having found means to introduce him¬ 
self into his apartment in private, that it would be 
very much for the security of his person, during 
the ill state of his health, to send for the French 
general and part of his garrison up to Livo, where 
the king then was, being a city 15 leagues north of 
Ayuthia, and the usual place of the king’s resi¬ 
dence, where he used to spend the greater part of his 
time. General des Farges being on his way thith¬ 
er, the conspiracy was discovered by Pitraxa’s own 
son, who happening to be with two of the king’s 
concubines in an apartment adjoining that where the 
conspirators were, had the curiosity to listen at the 
door, and having heard the bloody resolution that 
had been taken, immediately repaired to his father 
to inform him of it. Pitraxa without loss of time 
acquainted the king with this conspiracy, and then 
sent for Moupi, Phaulcon, and the mandarins of 


66 


SIAM. 


their party, as also for the captain of the guards, 
to court, and caused the criminals forthwith to be 
put in irons, notwithstanding the king expressed 
the greatest displeasure at his so doing. Phaulcon 
had for some time absented himself from court, but 
now being summoned, he could no longer excuse 
himself, though dreading some ill event : it is said 
he took leave of his family in a very melancholy 
manner. Soon after, his silver chair, wherein he 
was usually carried, came back empty—a bad omen 
to his friends and domestics, who could not but 
prepare themseltes to partake in their master’s 
misfortune. This happened 19th May, in the year 
1689. Two days after, Pitraxa ordered, against the 
king’s will, Moupi’s head to be struck off, throwing 
it at Phaulcon’s feet, then loaded with irons, with 
this reproach : ‘ See, there is your king 1’ The un¬ 
fortunate sick king, heartily sorry for the death of 
his dearest Moupi, earnestly desired that the de¬ 
ceased’s body might not be exposed to any further 
shame, but decently buried, which was accordingly 
complied with. Moupi’s father was seized by stra¬ 
tagem upon his estate between Ayuthia and Livo, 
and all their adherents were dispersed. Phaulcon, 
after having been tortured and starved for 14 days, 
and thereby reduced almost to a skeleton, had at 
last his irons taken off, and was carried away after 
sunset in an ordinary chair, unknowing what would 
be his fate. He was first carried to his house, 
which he found rifled : his wife lay a prisoner in 
the stable, who, far from taking leave of him, spit 
in his face, and would not so much as suffer him to 


THE STORY OF CONSTANTINE PHAULCON. 67 


kiss his only remaining son of four years of age, 
another son being lately dead and still unburied. 
From thence he was carried out of town to the 
place of execution, where, notwithstanding all his 
reluctancy, he had his head cut off. His body was 
divided into two parts, and covered with a little 
earth, which the dogs scratched away in the night¬ 
time, and devoured the corpse to the bones. Be¬ 
fore he died, he took his seal, two silver crosses, a 
relic set in gold which he wore on his breast, being 
a present from the Pope, as also the order of St. 
Michael which was sent him by the King of 
France, and delivered them to a mandarin who 
stood by, desiring him to give them to his little 
son—presents, indeed, that could be of no great 
use to the poor child, who to this day, with his mo¬ 
ther, goes begging from door to door, nobody dar¬ 
ing to intercede for them.’ 5 * 

It seems to be growing every year more difficult 
to form positive opinions concerning the various 
characters with whom history makes us acquainted, 
and we have here a sufficiently wide choice between 
two opposite estimates of poor Phaulcon. But 
whichever estimate we adopt, it remains abundantly 
evident that his career is one of the most romantic 
and extraordinary in the world. Venetian by de¬ 
scent, Greek by birth, English by avocation, Siamese 
by choice and fortune; at first almost a beggar, 
a shipwrecked adventurer against whom fate seemed 

* History of Japan, vol. i., p. 19-21. London, 1728 ; quoted 
in Bowring. 



68 


SIAM. 


hopelessly adverse, he became the chief actor in a 
scheme of dominion which might have given to 
France a realm rivalling in wealth and grandeur the 
British possessions in India. 

Some traces of the public works of which Phaul- 
con was the founder still remain to show the nature 
of the internal improvements which he inaugurated. 
His scheme of foreign alliance was a failure, but 
that he did much to develop the resources of the 
kingdom there would seem to be no doubt. “ At 
Lophaburi,” says Sir John Bowring, “ a city founded 
about A. D., 600, the palace of Phaulcon still exists ; 
and there are the remains of a Christian church 
founded by him, in which, some of the traditions 
say, lie was put to death. I brought with me from 
Bangkok, the capital, one of the columns of the 
church, richly carved and gilded, as a relic of the 
first* Christian temple erected in Siam, and as asso¬ 
ciated with the history of that singular, long-success¬ 
ful and finally sacrificed adventurer. The words Je¬ 
sus Hominum Salvator are still inscribed over the 
canopy of the altar, upon which the image of Bud¬ 
dha now sits to be worshipped.” 


* Sir John Bowring is probably mistaken. It seems to be well 
enough established that one or two Christian churches were built 
by the Portuguese, a century before the date of Phaulcon’s career. 




CHAPTER Y. 


MODERN SIAM.—THE PRESENT DYNASTY. 

HE present king of Siam is the fourth in succes- 



X sion from that distinguished general who was 
at first the friend and companion, and at last some¬ 
thing like the murderer of the renowed Phya Tak, the 
founder of the new capital, and indeed of the new king¬ 
dom of Siam. For, with the fall of Ayuthia and the 
removal of the seat of government to Bangkok, the 
country entered on a new era of prosperity and pro¬ 
gress. Bangkok is not far from sixty miles nearer 
to the mouth of the river than Ayuthia, and the geo¬ 
graphical change was significant of an advance to¬ 
wards the other nations of the world and of more in¬ 
timate relations of commerce and friendship with 
them. The founder of this dynasty reigned pros¬ 
perously for twenty-seven years, and under his sway 
the country enjoyed the repose and peace which af¬ 
ter a period of prolonged and devastating war it so 
greatly needed. After him, his son continued the 
pacific administration of the government for fourteen 
years, until 1824. At the death of this king, (the 
second of the new dynasty,) who left as heirs to the 
throne two sons of the same mother, the succession 


70 


SIAM. 


was usurped by an illegitimate son, who contrived 
by cunning management and by a readiness to avail 
himself of force, if it was needed, to possess himself 
of the sovereignty, and to be confirmed in it by the 
nobles and council of state. The two legitimate sons 
of the dead king, the oldest of whom had been ex¬ 
pressly named to succeed his father, were placed by 
this usurpation in a position of extreme peril; and 
the elder of the two retired at once into a Buddhist 
monastery as a talapoin , where he was safe from mo¬ 
lestation and could wait his time to claim his birth¬ 
right. The younger son, as having less to fear, took 
public office under the usurper and acquainted him¬ 
self with the cares and responsibilities of govern¬ 
ment. 

After a reign of twenty-seven years, closing in the 
year 1851, the usurper died. His reign was marked 
by some events of extraordinary interest. His royal 
palace was destroyed by fire, but afterwards rebuilt 
upon a larger scale and in a better style. And vari¬ 
ous military expeditions against adjoining countries 
were undertaken with results of more or less impor¬ 
tance. The most interesting of these expeditions 
was that against the Laos country, a brief account 
of which by an intelligent and able writer is quoted 
in Bowring’s book. As a picture of the style of war¬ 
fare and the barbarous cruelties of a successful cam¬ 
paign, it is striking and instructive. It is as follows : 

“ The expedition against Laos was successful. As 
usual in Siamese warfare, they laid waste the coun¬ 
try, plundered the inhabitants, brought them to 
Bangkok, sold them and gave them away as slaves. 



THE REIGNING FIRST KING OF SIAM. 











■ 






MODERN SIAM—THE PRESENT DYNASTY. 71 


The prince Vim Chow and family made their escape 
into Cochin China ; but instead of meeting with a 
friendly reception they were seized by the king of 
that country and delivered as prisoners to the Siam¬ 
ese. The king (of Laos) arrived in Bangkok about 
the latter end of 1828, and underwent there the 
greatest cruelties barbarians could invent. He was 
confined in a large iron cage, exposed to a burning 
sun and obliged to proclaim to every one that the 
king of Siam was great and merciful, that he him¬ 
self had committed a great error, and deserved his 
present punishment. In this cage were placed with 
the prisoner a large mortar to pound him in, a large 
boiler to boil him in, a hook to hang him by and a 
sword to decapitate him ; also a sharp pointed spike 
for him to sit on. His children were sometimes put 
in along with him. He was a mild, respectable-look¬ 
ing, old, grey-headed man, and did not live long to 
gratify his tormentors, death having put an end to 
his sufferings. His body was taken and hung in 
chains on the bank of the river, about two or three 
miles below Bangkok. The conditions on which the 
Cochin Chinese gave up Chow Vun Chow were, that 
the king of Siam would appoint a new prince to gov¬ 
ern the Laos country, who should be approved of by 
the Cochin Chinese, and that the court of Siam 
should deliver up the persons belonging to the Siam¬ 
ese army who attacked and killed some Cochin Chi¬ 
nese during the Laos war.” 

It is safe to say that within the fifty years since 
1828 the kingdom has made such progress in civili¬ 
zation that a picture of barbarism and cruelty like 


72 


SIAM. 


that which is given in the above narrative could not 
possibly be repeated in Siam to-day. 

The reign of this king was noteworthy for the 
treaty of commerce between Great Britain and 
Siam, negotiated by Captain Burney, as also for 
other negotiations tending to similar and larger 
intercourse with other countries, especially with the 
United States. But the concessions granted were 
ungenerous, and a spirit of jealousy and dislike con¬ 
tinued to govern the conduct of Siam towards other 
nations. 

Notwithstanding the slow growth of that enlight¬ 
ened confidence which is the only sure guaranty of 
commercial prosperity, Siam was brought into con¬ 
nection with the outside world through the labors of 
the missionaries, both Roman Catholic and Pro¬ 
testant, who, during the reign of this king, esta¬ 
blished themselves in the country. Some more de¬ 
tailed reference to the labors and successes of the 
missionaries will be made ii^ a subsequent chapter. 
It is by means of these self-sacrificing and devoted 
men that the great advances which Siam has made 
have been chiefly brought about. The silent influ¬ 
ence which they were exerting during this period, 
from 1824 to 1851, was really the great fact of the 
reign of the king Phra Chao Pravat Thong. Once 
or twice the king became suspicious of them, and 
attempted to hinder or to put an end to their labors. 
In 1848 he went so far as to issue an edict against 
the Roman Catholic missionaries, commanding the 
destruction of all their places of worship; but the 
edict was only partially carried into execution. The 


MODERN SIAM—THE PRESENT DYNASTY. 73 

change which has taken place in the attitude of the 
government in regard to religious liberty, and the 
sentiments of the present king in regard to it, are 
best expressed by a royal proclamation issued dur¬ 
ing the year 1870, a quotation from which is given 
in the Bangkok Calendar for the next year ensuing, 
introduced by a brief note from the editor, the Rev. 
D. B. Bradley. 

“ The following translation is an extract from the 
Royal Siamese Calendar for the current year. It is 
issued by the authority of his majesty the supreme 
king, and is to me quite interesting in many respects, 
but especially in the freedom it accords to all Siam¬ 
ese subjects in the great concerns of their religion. 
Having near the close of the pamphlet given good 
moral lessons, the paper concludes with the foliow¬ 
ing noble sentiments, and very remarkable for a 
heathen king to promulgate : 

“ In regard to the concern of seeking and holding 
a religion that shall be a refuge to yourself in this 
life, it is a good concern and exceedingly appropri¬ 
ate and suitable that you all—every individual of 
you, should investigate and judge for. himself accor¬ 
ding to his own wisdom. And when you see any re¬ 
ligion whatever, or any company of religionists 
whatever likely to be of advantage to yourself, a ref¬ 
uge in accord with your own wisdom, hold to that 
religion with all your heart. Hold it not with a 
shallow mind, with mere guess-work, or because of 
its general popularity, or from mere traditional say¬ 
ing that it is the custom, held from time immemorial; 
and do not hold a religion that you have not good 


74 


SIAM. 


evidence is true, and then frighten men’s fears and 
flatter their hopes by it. Do not be frightened and 
astonished at diverse events (fictitious wonders) and 
hold to and follow them. When you shall have ob¬ 
tained a refuge, a religious faith that is beautiful and 
good and suitable, hold to it with great joy, and fol¬ 
low its teachings, and it will be a cause of prosperity 
to each one of you.” 

The contrast between the state of things repre¬ 
sented by this document and that exemplified by the 
story of the treatment of the captive king of Laos is 
sufficient!}* striking. The man who tortured the 
king of- Laos w.as the uncle of the young man who is 
now on the throne. But between the two,—covering 
the period from the year 1851 to the year 1868,— 
was a king whose character and history entitles him 
to be ranked among the most extraordinary and ad¬ 
mirable rulers of modem times. To this man and 
his younger brother, who reigned conjointly as first 
and second kings, is due the honor of giving to their 
realm an honorable place among the nations of the 
world, and putting it in the van of progress among 
the kingdoms of the far East. 

It seemed at first a misfortune that these two bro¬ 
thers should have been so long kept out of their 
rightful dignities b} r their comparatively coarse and 
cruel half-brother who usurped the throne. But it 
proved in the end, both for them and for the world, 
a great advantage. The usurper, when he seized 
the throne, promised to hold it for a few years only 
and to restore it to its rightful heirs as soon as their 
growth in years and in experience should fit them 


MODERN SIAM—THE PRESENT DYNASTY. 


75 


to govern. So far was he, however, from making 
good his words that he had made all his arrange¬ 
ments to put his own son in his place. Having held 
the sovereignty for twenty-seven years the desire to 
perpetuate it in his own line was natural. And as 
he had about seven hundred wives there was no 
lack of children from among whom he might choose 
his heir. In 1851 he was taken sick, and it was ev¬ 
ident that his end was at hand. At this crisis, says 
Sir John Bowring : 

“ The energy of the Praklang (the present Kala- 
hom) saved the nation from the miseries of disputed 
succession. The Praklang’s eldest son Phya Sisu- 
riwong, held the fortresses of Paknam, and, with the 
aid of his powerful family, placed Chau Fa Tai 
upon the throne, and was made Kalahom, being at 
once advanced ten steps and to the position the most 
influential in the kingdom, that of prime minister. 
On the 18th March, 1851, the Praklang proposed to 
the council of nobles the nomination of Chau Fa 
Tai; he held bold language, carried his point, and the 
next day communicated the proceedings to the 
elected sovereign in his wat, (or temple,) everybody, 
even rival candidates, having given in their adhesion. 
By general consent, Chau Fa Noi was raised to the 
rank of wangna, or second king, having, it is said, 
one third of the revenues with a separate palace and 
establishment.” 

It is difficult to determine how the custom of two 
kings reigning at once could have originated, and 
how far back in the history of Siam it is to be 
traced. It is possible that it originated with the 


76 


SIAM. 


present dynasty, for the founder of this dynasty had 
a brother with whom he was closely intimate, who 
shared his fortunes when they were generals 
together under Phya Tak, and who might naturally 
enough have become his colleague when he ascend¬ 
ed the throne. Under the reign of the uncle of the 
present kings the office of second king was abolish¬ 
ed. But it was restored again at the next succes¬ 
sion, and the first and second kings now reigning 
are the eldest surviving sons of those two brothers to 
whose illustrious reign the kingdom owes so much. 
Concerning those two brothers, the narratives of 
travel which will be given in the following chapters 
will have much to say ; for in them while they lived, 
and in their intelligent and worthy sons and succes¬ 
sors, all that is most interesting and important in the 
history and condition of Siam is centred. They died 
—the younger in 1866 and the elder in a little more 
than a year afterward. A list of the children of the 
departed kings is given in the Bangkok Calendar, as 
“ arranged by the royal father,” the first king. Of 
his own offspring, eighty-four in number, sixty-seven 
survived him. To the list of the children of the sec¬ 
ond king, the following note is prefixed, apparently 
“by authority 

“ There have been thirty-one royal mothers in the 
second king’s family, and sixty-three children born 
to them—to wit: thirty princes, twenty-seven prin¬ 
cesses and six miscarriages. The oldest was a 
daughter, born in 1837, and died after a few days, 
and the second was prince George, (named after 
George Washington,) who heads the list of the sur- 


MODERN SIAM—THE PRESENT DYNASTY. 77 

viving children. Those born in the intervals of the 
years of the births of the surviving children, all de¬ 
ceased without any record of the time of their births. 
Only twenty-one of the thirty-one mothers have now 
their offspring with them, death having bereft the 
other ten of all they had.” 

In the list which follows, the names of the thirty 
survivors are given with the dates of birth, as “in 
the year of the dog,” “ of the rat,” “ of the cow,” 
“ of the small dragon,” “ of the hog,” “ of the mon¬ 
key,” “ the tiger,” “ the rabbit ” and “ the serpent.” 


CHAPTER VI. 


FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE MEINAM. 

HE entrance into the kingdom of Siam by the 



X great river, which divides the country east and 
west, brings the traveller at once into all the rich¬ 
ness and variety of tropical nature, and is well 
suited to produce an impression of the singular 
beauty and the vast resources of the “ Land of the 
White Elephant.” For this is the name which may 
properly be given to the kingdom since the flag of 
the country has been established. A very curious 
flag it makes—the white elephant on a red field— 
and very oddly it must look if ever it is necessary 
to hoist it upside down as a signal of distress; a 
signal eloquent indeed, for anything more helpless 
and distressing than this clumsy quadruped in that 
position can hardly be imagined. 

The editor of this volume, who visited Siam in one 
of the vessels of the United States East India Squad¬ 
ron in 1857, and who was present at the exchange of 
ratifications of the treaty made in the previous year, 
has elsewhere described * the impressions which were 


* Hours at Home, vol iv., pp. 464 , 531 ; vol. v., p. 66. 



FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE MEIN AM. 


79 


made upon him at his first entrance into the country 
of the Meinam, and reproduces his own narrative, 
substantially unaltered, in this and the two following 
chapters. 

There is enough to see in Siam, if only it could 
be described. But nothing is harder than to con¬ 
vey in words the indescribable charm of tropical 
life and scenery; and it was in this, in great mea¬ 
sure, that the enjoyment of my month in Bangkok 
consisted. Always, behind the events which occu¬ 
pied us day by day, and behind the men and things 
with which we had to do, was the pervading charm 
of tropical nature—of soft warm sky, with floating 
fleecy clouds, and infinite depths of blue beyond 
them; of golden sunlight flooding everything by 
day ; and when the day dies its sudden death, of 
mellow moonlight, as if from a perennial harvest 
moon; and of stars, that do not glitter with a hard 
and pointed radiance, as here, but melt through the 
mild air with glory in which there is never any 
thought of “ twinkling.” Always there was the teem¬ 
ing life of land and sea, of jungle and of river; and 
the varying influence of fruitful nature, captivating 
every sense with sweet allurement. Read Mr. Ten¬ 
nyson’s “ Lotos Eaters,” if you want to know what 
the tropics are. 

It was drawing toward the middle of a splendid 
night in May, when I found myself among the 
“ palms and temples ” of this singular city. It had 
been a tiresome journey from the mouth of the river, 
rowing more than a score of miles against the rapid 
current; and, if there could be monotony in the 


80 


SIAM. 


wonderful variety and richness of tropical nature, it 
might have been a monotonous journey. But the 
wealth of foliage, rising sometimes in the feathery 
plumes of the tall areca palm—of all palms the 
stateliest—or drooping sometimes in heavier and 
larger masses; crowding to the water’s edge in 
dense, impenetrable jungle ; or checked here and 
there by the toil of cultivation ; or cleared for dwell¬ 
ings,—was a constant wonder and delight. Now and 
then we passed a bamboo house, raised high on 
poles above the ground, and looking like some mon¬ 
strous bird’s nest in the trees; but they were feather¬ 
less bipeds who peered out from the branches at the 
passing - boats ; and not bird’s notes, but children’s 
voices, that clamored. in wonder, or were silenced in 
awe at the white-faced strangers. Sometimes the 
white walls and shining roofs of temples gleamed 
through the dark verdure, suggesting the architec¬ 
tural magnificence and beauty which the statelier 
temples of the city would exhibit. Bald-headed 
priests, in orange-colored scarfs, came out to watch 
us. Superb white pelicans stood pensive by the 
river side, or snatched at fish, or sailed on snowy 
wings with quiet majesty across the stream. Or 
may be, some inquiring monkey, grey-whiskered, 
leading two or three of tenderer years, as if he were 
their tutor, on a naturalist’s expedition through the 
jungle, stops to look at us with peculiar curiosity, as 
at some singular and unexpected specimen, but 
stands ready to dodge behind the roots of mangrove 
trees in case of danger. 

It will be fortunate for the traveller if, while he 










































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GENERAL VIEW OF BANGKOK. 














































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE ME IN AM. 


81 


is rowing up the river, night shall overtake him ; 
for beside the splendor of the tropic stars above 
him, there will be rival splendors all about him. The 
night came down on me with startling sudden¬ 
ness—for “ there is no twilight within the courts of 
the sun ”—just as I was waiting at the mouth of a 
cross : cut canal, by which, when the tide should rise 
a little, I might avoid a long bend in the river. By 
the time the tide had risen, the night had fallen 
thick and dark, and the dense shade of the jungle, 
through which the canal led us, made it yet thicker 
and more dark. Great fern leaves, ten or fifteen 
feet in height, grew dense on either side, and fan¬ 
like, almost met over our heads. Above them 
stretched the forest trees. Among them rose the 
noise of night-birds, lizards, trumpeter-beetles, and 
creatures countless and various, making a hoarse 
din, which, if it was not musical, at least was lively. 
But the jungle, with its darkness and its din, had 
such a beauty as I never have seen equalled, when 
its myriad fire-flies sparkled thick on every side. I 
had seen fire-flies before, and had heard of them; 
but I had never seen or heard, nor have I since then 
ever seen or heard, of anything like these. The 
peculiarity of them was—not that they were so 
many, though they were innumerable—not that they 
were so large, though they were very large—but that 
they clustered, as by a preconcerted plan, on cer¬ 
tain kinds of trees, avoiding carefully all other kinds, 
and then, as if by signal from some director of the 
spectacle, they all sent forth their light at once, at 
simultaneous and exact intervals, so that the whole 


82 


SIAM. 


tree seemed to flash and palpitate with living light. 
Imagine it. At one instant was blackness of dark¬ 
ness and the croaking jungle. Then suddenly on 
every side flashed out these fiery trees, the form of 
each, from topmost twig to outmost bough, set 
thick with flaming jewels. It was easy to imagine 
at the top of each some big white-waistcoated fire¬ 
fly, with the baton of director, ordering the move¬ 
ments of the rest. 

This peculiarity of the Siamese fire-flies, or, as our 
popular term graphically describes them, the tropi¬ 
cal “ lightning-bugs” was noticed as long ago as the 
time of old Kampfer, who speaks concerning them 
as follows: 

“ The glow-worms settle on some trees like a fiery 
cloud, with this surprising circumstance, that a 
whole swarm of these insects, having taken posses¬ 
sion of one tree and spread themselves over its 
branches, sometimes hide their light all at once, and 
a moment after make it appear again, with the ut¬ 
most regularity and exactness, as if they were in per¬ 
petual systole and diastole.” The lapse of centuries 
has wrought no change in the rhythmic regularity 
of this surprising exhibition. Out upon the river once 
again ; the houses on the shore began to be more nii- 
merous, and presently began to crowd together in 
continuous succession; and from some of them the 
sound of merry laughter and of pleasant music issu¬ 
ing, proved that not all the citizens of Bangkok were 
asleep. The soft light of the cocoanut-oil lamps sup¬ 
plied the place of the illumination of the fire-flies. 
Boats, large and small, were passing swiftly up and 


FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF TEE MEIN AM. 83 

down the stream; now and then the tall masts of 
some merchant ships loomed indistinctly large 
through the darkness. I could dimly see high towers 
of temples and broad roofs of palaces; and I 
stepped on shore, at last, on the 

“Dark shore, just seen that it was rich,” 

with a half-bewildered feeling that I was passing 
through some pleasant dream of the Arabian Nights, 
from which I should presently awake. 

Even when the flooding sunlight of the tropical 
morning poured in through the windows, it was 
difficult for me to realize that I was not in some un¬ 
real land. There was a sweet, low sound of music 
filling the air with its clear, liquid tones. And, join¬ 
ing with the music, was the pleasant ringing of a 
multitude of little bells, ringing I knew not where. 
It seemed as if the air was full of them. Close by, 
on one side, was the palace of a prince, and some¬ 
where in his house or in his courtyard there were 
people playing upon instruments of music, made of 
smoothed and hollowed bamboo. But no human 
hands were busy with the bells. Within a stone’s 
throw of my window rose the shining tower of the 
most splendid temple in Bangkok. From its broad 
octagonal base to the tip of its splendid spire it must 
measure, I should think, a good deal more than two 
hundred feet, and every inch of its irregular surface 
glitters with ornament. Curiously wrought into it 
are forms of men and birds, and grotesque beasts 
that seem, with outstretched hands or claws, to 
hold it up. Two thirds of the way from the base, 


84 


SIAM. 


stand, I remember, four white elephants, wrought 
in shining porcelain, facing one each way toward 
four points of the compass. From the rounded 
summit rises, like a needle, a sharp spire. This 
was the temple tower, and all over the magnificent 
pile, from the tip of the highest needle to the base, 
from every prominent angle and projection, there 
were hanging sweet-toned bells, with little gilded 
fans attached to their tongues; so swinging that 
they were vocal in the slightest breeze. Here was 
where the music came from. Even as I stood and 
looked, I caught the breezes at it. Coming from the 
unseen distance, rippling the smooth surface of the 
swift river, where busy oars and carved or gilded 
prows of many boats were flashing in the sun, sweep¬ 
ing with pleasant whispers through the varied rich¬ 
ness of the tropical foliage, stealing the perfume of 
its blossoms and the odor of its fruits, they caught 
the shining bells of this great tower, and tossed the 
music out of them. Was I awake I wondered, or 
was it some dream of Oriental beauty that would 
presently vanish? 

Something like this iEolian tower there must 
be in the adjacent kingdom of Birmah, where the 
graceful pen of Mrs. Judson has put the scene in 
verse : 

“ On the pagoda spiie 
The bells are swinging, 

Their little golden circlets in a flutter 

With tales the wooing winds have dared to utter ; 

Till all are ringing, 

As if a choir 

Of golden-nested birds in heaven were singing ; 


FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE MEIN AM. 


85 


And with a lulling sound 
The music floats around 
And drops like balm into the drowsy ear.” 

The verse breathes the spirit, and gives almost 
the very sound, of the bewitching tropical scene on 
which I looked, and out of which “the music of the 
bells” was blown to me on my first morning in 
Bangkok. 

No doubt my first impressions (which I have 
given with some detail, and with all the directness 
of “ that right line I ”) were fortunate. But three or 
four weeks of Bangkok could not wear them off or 
counteract them. It is the Venice of the East. Its 
highway is the river, and canals are its by-ways. 
There are streets, as in Venice, used by pedestrians ; 
but the travel and the carriage is, for the most part, 
done by boats. Only, in place of the verdureless 
margin of the watery streets, which gives to Venice, 
with all its beauty, a half-dreary aspect, there is 
greenest foliage shadowing the water, and mingling 
with the dwellings, and palaces, and temples on the 
shore ; and instead of the funereal gondolas of mo¬ 
notonous color, with solitary gondoliers , are boats of 
every size and variety, paddled sometimes by one, 
sometimes by a score of oarsmen. Some of the bam¬ 
boo dwellings of the humbler classes are built, literal¬ 
ly, on the river, floating on rafts, a block of them to¬ 
gether, or raised on poles above the surface of the 
water. The shops expose their goods upon the 
river side, and wait for custom from the thronging 
boats. The temples and the palaces must stand, of 
course, on solid ground, but the river is the great 


80 


SIAM. 


Broadway, and houses crowd upon, the channel of 
the boats, and boats bump the houses. It is a pic¬ 
turesque and busy scene on which you look as you 
pass on amid the throng. Royal boats, with carved 
and gilded prows, with shouting oarsmen, rush by 
you, hurrying with the rapid current; or the little 
skiff of some small peddler, with his assortment of 
various “ notions,” paddling and peddling by turns, is 
dexterously urged along its way. Amid all this mo¬ 
tion and traffic is that charm of silence which makes 
Venice so dreamlike. No rumble of wheels nor 
clatter of hoofs disturbs you. Only the sound of 
voices, softened as it comes along the smooth water, 
or the music of a palace, or the tinkling of the 
bells of a pagoda, break the stillness. It is a 
beautiful Broadway, without the Broadway roar and 
din. 

Of course there is not, in this tr.opical Venice, 
anything to equal the incomparable architectural 
beauty of the Adriatic city. And yet it seemed to 
me that the architecture of Siam was in very per¬ 
fect accord with all its natural surroundings. In all 
parts of the city you may find the “ wats ” or temples. 
When we started on our first day’s sight-seeing, and 
told the old Portuguese half-breed, who acted as our 
interpreter, to take us to a “ wat,” he asked, with a 
pun of embarrassment, “ What wat ?” Of course 
we must begin with the pagoda of innumerable bells, 
but wliere to stop we knew not. Temple after tem¬ 
ple waited to be seen. Through long, dim corridors, 
crowded with rows of solemn idols carved and 
gilded ; through spacious open courts paved with 


FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE MEINAM. 37 

large slabs of marble, and filled with graceful spires 
or shafts or columns ; along white walls with gilded 
eaves and cornices; beneath arches lined with gold, 
to sacred doors of ebony, or pearly gates of irides¬ 
cent beauty ; amid grotesque stone statues, or queer 
paintings of the Buddhist inferno , (strangely similar 
to. the mediaeval Christian representations of the 
same subject,) you may wander till you are tired. 
You may happen to come upon the bonzes at their 
devotions, or you may have the silent temples to 
yourself. In one of them you will find that clumsy, 
colossal image, too big to stand, and built recum¬ 
bent, therefore—a great mass of heavy masonry, 
covered thick with gilding, and measuring a hundred 
and fifty feet in length. If you could stand him up, 
his foot would cover eighteen feet—an elephantine 
monster. But the roofs, of glazed tiles, with a cen¬ 
tre of dark green and with a golden margin, are the 
greatest charm of the temples. Climb some pagoda 
and look down upon the city, and, on every side, 
among the “ breadths of tropic shade and palms in 
duster,” you will see the white walls roofed with 
shining green and gold, and surmounted by their 
gilded towers and spires. Like the temples are the 
palaces, but less splendid. But everywhere, wheth¬ 
er in temples or palaces, you will find, not rude, bar¬ 
baric tawdriness of style, but elegance and skill of 
which the Western nations might be proud. Good 
taste, and a quick sense of beauty, and the ability 
to express them in their handiwork, all these are 
constantly indicated in the architecture of this peo¬ 
ple. And they make the city one of almost unri- 


88 


SIAM. 


valed picturesqueness to the traveller, who glides 
from river to canal and from canal to river, under 
the shadow of the temple towers, and among the 
shining walls of stately palaces. 

Of course, where so much wealth is lavished on 
the public buildings, there must be great resources 
to draw from ; and, indeed, the mineral wealth of 
the country appears at almost every turn. Precious 
stones and the precious metals seem as frequent as 
the fire-flies in the jungle. Sometimes, as in the 
silver currencj^ there is an absence of all workman¬ 
ship ; the coinage being little lumps of silver, rudely 
rolled together in a mass and stamped. But some¬ 
times, as in the teapots, betel-nut boxes, cigar-hold¬ 
ers, with which the noblemen are provided when 
they go abroad, you will see workmanship of no 
mean skill. Often these vessels are elegantly 
wrought. Sometimes they are studded with jewels ; 
sometimes they are beautifully enamelled in divers 
colors. Once I called upon a noble, who brought 
out a large assortment of uncut stones—some % of 
them of great value—and passed them to me as one 
would a snuff-box, not content till I had helped my¬ 
self. More than once I have seen children of the 
nobles with no covering at all, except the strings of 
jewelled gold that hung, in barbarous opulence, upon 
their necks and shoulders; but there was wealth 
enough in these to fit the little fellows with a very 
large assortment of most fashionable and Christian 
apparel, even at the ruinous rate of tailors’ prices 
at the present day. To go about among these ur¬ 
chins, and among the houses of the nobles and the 


FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE MEIN AM. 


89 


king’s palaces, gives one the half-bewildered and 
half-covetous feeling that it gives to be conducted by 
polite but scrutinizing attendants through a mint. 
Surely we had come at last to 

‘ ‘ Where the gorgeous East, with richest hand, 

Showers on her kings barbaric pearl and gold.” 

Of course, of all this wealth the king’s share 
was the lion’s share. 

Then, as for vegetable wealth, I do not know 
that there is anywhere a richer valley in the world 
than the valley of the Meinam. All the productions 
of the teeming tropics may grow luxuriantly here. 
There was rice enough in Siam, the year before my 
visit, to feed the native population, and to supply 
the failure of the rice crop in southern China, pre¬ 
venting thus the havoc of a famine in that crowded 
empire, and making fortunes for the merchants who 
were prompt enough to carry it from Bangkok to 
Canton. Cotton grows freely beneath that burning 
sky. Sugar, pepper, and all spices may be had 
with easy cultivation. There is gutta-percha in the 
forests. There are dye-stuffs and medicines in the 
jungles. The painter gets his gamboge, as its 
name implies, from Cambodia, which is tributary 
to their majesties of Bangkok. As for the fruits, 
I cannot number them nor describe them. The 
mangostene, most delicate and most rare of them all, 
grows only in Siam, and in the lands adjacent to the 
Straits of Sunda and Malacca. Some things we 
may have which Siam cannot have, but the mango¬ 
stene is her peculiar glory, and she will not lend it. 


90 


SIAM. 


Beautiful to sight, smell, and taste, it hangs among 
its glossy leaves, the prince of fruits. Cut through 
the shaded green and purple of the rind, and lift 
the upper half as if it were the cover of a dish, 
and the pulp of half transparent, creamy white¬ 
ness stands in segments like an orange, but rimmed 
w'ith darkest crimson where the rind was cut. It 
looks too beautiful to eat; but how the rarest, sweet¬ 
est essence of the tropics seems to dwell in it as it 
melts to your delighted taste ! 

For everything there is a compensation.. If we 
do not have the mangostene, we do not have the 
durian—of all fruits, at first the most intolerable; 
but said, by those who have smothered their pre¬ 
judices, to be of all fruits, at last, the most indispens¬ 
able. When it is brought to you at first, you 
clamor till it is removed; if there are durians in 
the next room to you, you cannot sleep. Chloride of 
lime and disinfectants seem to be its necessary 
remedy. To eat it seems to be the sacrifice of 
self-respect; but endure it for a while, with closed 
nostrils, taste it once or twice, and you will cry for 
durians thenceforth, even—I blush to write it—even 
before the glorious mangostene. I have mentioned 
only the two extremes of the immense variety of 
fruits. One day the king sent to our party more 
than a hundred brazen dishes full of I do not know 
what various kinds. Piles of golden oranges and 
mangoes ; pine-apples, blushing beneath their thorny 
skins; bananas, fresh and luscious. The memory of 
the lieaped-up dishes is enough to make one glow 
with tropical delight in January. 


FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE MEIN AM. 


91 


This is the Land of the White Elephant, so singu¬ 
lar, so rich, so beautiful; but we need also to tell what 
manner of men the people are who live beneath the 
standard of the elephant, or what kings and nobles 
govern them. 


CHAPTEK VII. 


A ROYAL GENTLEMAN. 


out of their birthright. 


an intelligent traveller who visited Siam said con¬ 


cerning him : “ No man in the kingdom is so quali¬ 
fied to govern well. His naturally fine mind is en¬ 
larged and improved by intercourse with foreigners, 


S OON after arriving in Bangkok, in 1857, on the 
occasion referred to in the last chapter, the pres¬ 
ent editor was invited to an interview with the second 
king, (the father of the present second king.) The ac¬ 
count of that interview was written while it was still a 
matter of recent memory ; and it seems better to re¬ 
produce the story, for the sake of the freshness with 
which the incidents described in it were recorded, ra¬ 
ther than to attempt the rewriting of it. It is a 
characteristic picture of an extraordinary man, and 
of the manners and customs which still prevail for 
the most part (with some important exceptions) at 
the court of Siam. This king was the grandson of 
the founder of the present dynasty, and was the ju¬ 
nior of the two princes who, by the usurpation of 
their half-brother were, for twenty-seven years, kept 
Even so long ago as 1837, 





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A ROYAL GENTLEMAN. 


93 


by the perusal of English works, by studying Euclid 
and Newton, by freeing himself from a bigoted at¬ 
tachment to Buddhism, by candidly recognizing our 
superiority and a readiness to adopt our arts. He 
understands the use of the sextant and chronome¬ 
ter, and was anxious for the latest Nautical Almanac, 
which I promised to send him. His little daughters, 
accustomed to the sight of foreigners, so far from 
showing any signs of fear, always came to sit upon 
my lap, though the yellow cosmetic on their limbs 
was sure to be transferred in part to my dress. One 
of them took pride in repeating to me a few words 
of English, and the other took care to display her 
power of projecting the elbow forward,”—an accom¬ 
plishment upon which the ladies of Siam still pride 
themselves, and in which they are extraordinarily ex¬ 
pert. 

This was in 1837. How greatly the character of 
the second king had developed since that time will 
appear from the editor’s description, which refers, as 
has been said, to the year 1857. 

One king at a time is commonly thought to be as 
much as any kingdom has need of. Indeed, there 
seems to be a growing tendency among the nations 
of the earth to think that even one is one too many, 
and the popular prejudice is setting very strongly in 
favor of none at all. Nevertheless, there are in 
Siam (or rather, until very recently, there were) two 
kings reigning together, each with the full rank and 
title of king, and with no rivalry between them. The 
law of succession does not seem to be uniform, nor 


94 


SIAM. 


does it seem possible to ascertain it. The second 
king died last year, and I believe the first king is 
now governing alone. It is probable that, originally, 
a monarchy was the normal condition of the govern¬ 
ment, and that the duarchy is of comparatively mod¬ 
ern origin. But it is certain that, ten years ago, 
when I was in the Land of the White Elephant, there 
was a kind of Siamese-twin arrangement in the 
kingdom. The two kings were brothers ; and though, 
as has been said, their rank and title were equal, 
the real power and work of government rested chief¬ 
ly on the shoulders of the elder of the two, the oth¬ 
er keeping discreetly and contentedly in the back¬ 
ground. Both were men of noteworthy ability, and 
deserve to be known and honored for their personal 
attainments in civilization, and for what they have 
done to lift their kingdom out of degradation and 
barbarism, and to welcome and promote intercourse 
between it and the Western nations. When we re¬ 
member the obstinacy of Oriental prejudice against 
innovation, and the persistency with which the peo¬ 
ple wrap themselves in their conceit as in a gar¬ 
ment, we shall the better appreciate the state of 
things at the court of the White Elephant, which I 
am about to describe. 

The second king was a man of social disposition, 
and fond of the company of strangers. And it was, 
doubtless, owing to this fact, that when he heard 
that there was an American man-of-war at the 
mouth of the river, and that an officer had been sent 
up to Bangkok to report her arrival, he sent a mes¬ 
senger and a boat with the request that I would 


A ROYAL GENTLEMAN. 


95 


come and see him. It did not take long for the 
score of oarsmen, with the short, quick motion of 
their paddles, and the grunting energy with which 
they plied them, to bring the boat up to the palace 
gates. For, of course, the palace has a water-front, 
and one may pass at one step from among the 
thronging boats of the river into the quiet seclusion 
of the king’s inclosure. Passing through a lofty 
gateway at the water’s edge, we came to a large and 
stately temple, about which were priests in orange- 
colored drapery trying to screen their shining skulls 
from the fierce heat of the morning sun by means of 
fans. I used to feel sorry for the priests. Ecclesi¬ 
astical law and usage compel them to shave every 
sign of hair from their heads. Not even a tail is left 
to them, but they are as bald as beetles. And when 
(as in Siam) the sun’s rays beat with almost per¬ 
pendicular directness, it is no trifling thing to be 
deprived of even the natural protection with which 
the skull is provided. Whatever can be done with 
fans toward shielding themselves, they do ; and, also, 
they can, by the same means, shut off their eyes 
from beholding vanity, so that a fan is a most im¬ 
portant part of the sacerdotal outfit. Leaving the 
priests to group themselves in idle picturesqueness 
near the royal temple, we pass on by storehouses 
and treasuries and stables of the royal elephants, be¬ 
tween sentries standing guard with European arms 
and in a semi-European uniform, to the armory, 
where I was to wait until the king was ready. 

The messenger who had hitherto conducted me, 
was known among the foreign residents of Bangkok 


96 


SIAM. 


as “ Captain Dick”—a talkative person, with a 
shrewd eye to his own advancement. He spoke 
good English, and a good deal of it, and suggested, 
I remember, certain ways in which it would be pos¬ 
sible for me to further his interests with the king. 
He had been at sea, and had perhaps commanded 
one of the king’s sea-going vessels—his “ captaincy” 
being rather maritime than military. He was quite 
disposed to join the embassy, which was at that time 
getting ready to be sent to Great Britain. He men¬ 
tioned, incidentally, that a few of the naval buttons 
on my uniform would be a highly acceptable gift for 
me to offer him. The confidence and self-assurance 
with which he had borne himself, however, began 
perceptibly to wilt as we drew a little nearer to the 
august presence of royalty. And, at the armory, he 
made me over, in quite a humble manner, to the 
king’s oldest son, who was to take me to his father. 
As I shook hands with the tall, manly, handsome 
youth who was waiting for me, I thought him wor¬ 
thy of his princely station. Kings’ sons are not al¬ 
ways the heirs of kingly beauty or of kingly virtues ; 
but here was one who had, at least, the physical en¬ 
dowments which should fit him for the dignity to 
which he was born. He was almost the only man I 
saw in Siam whose teeth were not blackened nor his 
mouth distorted by the chewing of the betel-nut. 
For the betel-nut is in Siam what the tobacco-cud is 
in America, only it is not, I believe, quite so injuri¬ 
ous to the chewer as the tobacco ; while, on the oth¬ 
er hand, its use is a little more universal. As be¬ 
tween the two, for general offensiveness, I do not 


A ROYAL GENTLEMAN. 


97 


know that there is anything to choose. But this 
young man was free from the stain of betel-nut, and 
I can not forbear the hope that he may have learned 
to govern himself so far in other things, that he may 
be fit to govern others. At any rate he has a kingly 
name—a more than kingly name. For the second 
king, seeking a significant name for his son, chose 
one which had been borne, not by an Asiatic, not by 
a European, but by the greatest of Americans— 
George Washington. “ What’s in a name ?” It 
may provoke a smile at first, that such a use should 
be made of the name of Washington, as if it were 
the whim of an ignorant and half-savage king. But 
when it shall appear, as I shall make it appear be¬ 
fore I have finished, that-this Siamese king under¬ 
stood and appreciated the character of the great 
man after whom he wished his son to be called, I 
think that no American wiil be content with laugh¬ 
ing at him. I own that it moved me with something 
more than merely patriotic pride to hear the name 
of Washington honored in the remotest corner of the 
old world. It seemed to me significant of great pro¬ 
gress already achieved towards Christian civilization, 
and prophetic of yet greater things to come. 

But as the Prince George Washington walked 
on with me, and I revolved these great things in my 
mind, another turn was given to my thoughts. For 
when we had gone through a pleasant, shady court, 
and had come to the top of a flight of marble steps 
which took us to the door of the king’s house, (a 
plain and pleasant edifice of mason-work, like the 
residence of some private gentleman of wealth in our 


98 


SIAM. 


own country,) I suddenly missed the young man 
from my side, and turned to look for him. What 
change had come over him! The man had been trans¬ 
formed into a reptile. The tall and graceful youth f 
princely in look and bearing, was down on all his 
marrow-bones, bending his head until it almost 
touched the pavement of the portico, and, crawling 
slowly toward the door, conducted me with reverent 
signs and whispers toward the king, his father, whom 
I saw coming to meet us. 

This was the other side of the picture. And 
I draw out the incident in detail because it is 
characteristic of the strange conflict between the 
old barbarism and the new enlightenment which 
meets one at every turn, in the Land of the White 
Elephant. There are two tides—one is going out, 
the ebb-tide of ignorance, of darkness, of des¬ 
potic power ; and one is coming in—the flood-tide 
of knowledge and liberty and all Christian grace. 
And, as in the whirl of waters where two currents 
meet, one never knows which way his boat may 
head, so sometimes the drift of things is back¬ 
ward toward the Orient, and sometimes forward, 
westward, as the “ star of empire ” moves. And 
one of the most striking evidences that the old is 
not yet “ rung out,” is found in the servile degra¬ 
dation which superior rank or caste requires from 
all who are of lower station. Each rank has some 
who crawl like crocodiles beneath it, and is in its 
turn compelled to crawl before the higher. Nor 
are the members of a nobleman’s family exempt. I 
was introduced once to one of the wives of a fat, 


A ROYAL GENTLEMAN. 


99 


good-natured prince, (a half-brother of the two 
kings,) who was crawling around, with her head 
downward, on the floor. I offered my hand as po¬ 
litely as was possible, and she shuffled up to shake 
it, and then shuffled off again into a corner. It 
was very queer—more so than when I shake hands 
with Trip, the spaniel, for then we both of us un¬ 
derstand that it is a joke—but here it was a solemn 
and ceremonious act of politeness, and had to be 
performed with a straight face. The good lady has 
her revenge, however, and must enjoy it, when she 
sees her fat husband, clumsy, and almost as heavy 
as an elephant, get down on his hands and knees, 
as he has to, in the presence of his majesty the 
king. I have been told that, when the Siamese 
embassy to Great Britain was presented to the 
queen, before anybody knew what they were 
about, the ambassadors were down on all fours, at 
the entrance of the audience chamber, and insisted 
on crawling like mud-turtles into her majesty’s pre¬ 
sence. For, consistently enough, the court of Si¬ 
am requires of foreigners only what etiquette re¬ 
quires in the presence of the king or president of 
their own country—but, when its representatives 
are sent to foreign courts, they carry their own 
usage with them. I felt a pardonable pride, and 
a little kindling of the “ Civis-Romanus-sum ” spi¬ 
rit, and an appreciable stiffening of the spinal col¬ 
umn, as I walked straight forward, while Prince 
George Washington crawled beside me. Blessed 
was the man who walked uprightly. 

Halleck, the sprightliest poet of his native 


100 


SIAM. 


state, in verse which will be always dear to all who 
love that good old commonwealth, has told us how 
a true son of Connecticut 

“ Would shake hands with a king upon his throne 
And think it kindness to his majesty.” 

Of course, then, as the king came toward the porti¬ 
co and met us at the door, that was the thing to do, 
being also the etiquette at the court of James 
Buchanan, who then reigned at Washington. But 
not even that venerable functionary, whose man¬ 
ners I have been given to understand were one of 
his strong points, could have welcomed a guest with 
more gentlemanly politeness than that with which 
this king of a barbarous people welcomed me. He 
spoke good English, and spoke it fluently, and 
knew how, with gentlemanly tact, to put his visitor 
straightway at his ease. It was hard to believe 
that I was in a remote and almost unknown corner 
of the old world, and not in the new. The conver¬ 
sation was such as might take place between two 
gentlemen in a New York parlor. On every side 
were evidences of an intelligent and cultivated 
taste. The room in which we sat was decorated 
with engravings, maps, busts, statuettes. The 
book-cases were filled with well-selected volumes, 
handsomely bound. There were, I remember, va¬ 
rious encyclopaedias and scientific works. There 
was the Abbottsford edition of the Waverley nov¬ 
els, and a bust of the great Sir Walter overhead. 
There were some religious works, the gift, proba¬ 
bly, of the American missionaries. And, as if his 


A ROYAL GENTLEMAN. 


101 


majesty had seen the advertisements in the news¬ 
papers which implore a discriminating public to 
“ get the best,” there were two copies of Webster’s 
quarto dictionary, unabridged. Moreover, the king 
called my particular attention to these two vol¬ 
umes, and, as if to settle the war of the dictiona¬ 
ries by an authoritative opinion, said : “ I like it 

very much; I think it the best dictionary, better 
than any English. 5 ' Accordingly the publishers are 
hereby authorized to insert the recommendation of 
the second king of Siam, with the complimentary 
notices of other distinguished critics, in their pub¬ 
lished advertisements. On the table lay a recent 
copy of the London Illustrated News , to which 
the king is a regular subscriber, and of which h-e is 
an interested reader. There was in it, I remem¬ 
ber, a description, with diagrams, of some new in¬ 
vention of fire-arms, concerning which he wished 
my opinion, but he knew much more about it than 
I did. Some reference was made to my native 
city, and I rose to show on the map, which hung 
before me, where it was situated, but I found that 
he knew it very well, and especially that “ they 
made plenty of guns there.” For guns and milita¬ 
ry affairs he had a great liking, and indeed for all 
sorts of science. He w r as expert in his use of quad¬ 
rant and sextant, and could take a lunar observa¬ 
tion and work it out with accuracy. He had his 
army, distinct from the first king’s soldiers, disci¬ 
plined and drilled according to European tactics. 
Their orders were given in English and were 
obeyed with great alacrity. He had a band of Si- 


102 


SIAM. 


amese musicians who performed on European in¬ 
struments, though I am bound to say that their 
performance was characterized by force rather than 
by harmony. He made them play “ Yankee Doo¬ 
dle,” and “ Hail Columbia,” but if I enjoyed it, it 
was rather with a patriotic than with a musical en¬ 
thusiasm. When they played their own rude mu¬ 
sic it was vastly better. But the imperfections of 
the band were of very small importance, compared 
with the good will which had prompted the king to 
make them learn the American national airs. 
That good will expressed itself in various ways. 
His majesty, who wrote an elegant autograph, kept 
up a correspondence with the captain of our ship 
for a long time after our visit. And when the 
captain, a few years later, had risen to the rank of 
Admiral, and had made the name of Foote illustri¬ 
ous in his country’s annals, the king wrote to him, 
expressing his deep interest in the progress of our 
conflict with rebellion, and his sincere desire for the 
success of our national cause. When kings and peo¬ 
ples, bound to us by the ties of language and kindred 
and religion misunderstood us, and gave words of 
sneering censure, or else no words at all, as we were 
fighting with the dragon, this king of an Asiatic peo¬ 
ple, of different speech, of different race, of different 
religion, found words of intelligent and appreciative 
cheer for us. He had observed the course of our 
history, the growth of our nation, the principles of 
our government. And though we knew very little 
about him and his people, he was thoroughly in¬ 
formed concerning us. So that, as I talked with 



» 








A ROYAL GENTLEMAN. 


103 


liim, and saw the refinement and good taste which 
displayed itself in his manners and in his dwelling, 
and the minute knowledge of affairs which his con¬ 
versation showed, I began to wonder on what sub¬ 
jects I should find him ignorant. Once or twice I 
involuntarily expressed my amazement, and pro¬ 
voked a good-natured laugh from the king, who* 
seemed quite to understand it. 

And yet this gentlemanly and well-informed 
man was black. And he wore no trousers—the 
mention of which fact reminds me that I have not 
told what he did wear. First of all, he wore very 
little hair on his head, conforming in this respect to 
the universal fashion among his countrymen, and 
shaving all but a narrow ridge of hair between the 
crown and the forehead ; and this is cut off at the 
height of an inch, so that it stands straight up, 
looking for all the world like a stiff blacking-brush, 
only it can never be needed for such a purpose, 
because no Siamese wears shoes. I think the first 
king, when we called upon him, had on a pair of 
slippers, but the second king, if I remember, was 
barefooted—certainly he was barelegged. Wound 
about his waist and hanging to his knees was a 
scarf of rich, heavy silk, which one garment is the 
entire costume of ordinary life in Siam. The com¬ 
mon people, of course, must have it of cheap cot¬ 
ton, but the nobles wear silk of beautiful quality 
and pattern, and when this is wound around the 
waist so that the folds hang to the knees, and the 
ends are thrown over the shoulders, they are 
dressed. On state occasions something is added to 


104 


SIAM. 


this costume, and on all occasions there will be 
likely to be a wonderful display of jewels and of 
gold. So now, the light would flash once in a 
while from the superb diamond finger-rings which 
the king whom I am describing wore. He wore 
above his scarf a loose sack of dark-blue cloth, fas¬ 
tened with a few gold buttons, with a single band 
of gold-lace on the sleeves, and an inch or two of 
gold-lace on the collar. Half European, half Ori¬ 
ental in his dress, he had combined the two styles 
with more of good taste than one could have ex¬ 
pected. It was characteristic of that transition from 
barbarism to civilization, upon which his kingdom 
is just entering. 

The same process of transition and the same 
contrast between the two points of the transition 
was expressed in other wmys. If it be true, for ex¬ 
ample, that cookery is a good index of civilization, 
there came in presently most civilized cakes and 
tea and coffee, as nicely made as if, by some mys¬ 
terious dumb-waiter they had come down fresh from 
the restaurants of Paris. The king made the tea 
and coffee with his own hand, and with the conven¬ 
tional inquiry, “ Cream and sugar ?”—and the re¬ 
freshments were served in handsome dishes of solid 
silver. Besides, I might have smoked a pipe, quite 
wonderful by reason of the richness of its orna¬ 
ment, or drunk his majesty’s health in choice wines 
of his own importation. The refreshment which 
was furnished was elegant and ample, and, if taken 
as an index of civilization, indicated that the court 
of the White Elephant need not be ashamed, even 


A ROYAL GENTLEMAN. 


105 


by the side of some that made mu ch higher claims. 
But, on the other hand, while the lunch was go¬ 
ing on, Prince George Washington and a great 
tawny dog who answered to the name of “ Watch,” 
lay prostrate with obsequious reverence on the 
floor, receiving with great respect and gratitude any 
word that the king might deign to fling to them. 
One or two nobleman were also present in the same 
attitude. Presently there came into the room one 
of the king’s little children, a beautiful boy of three 
or four years old, who dropped on his knees and 
lifted his joined hands in reverence toward his fa¬ 
ther. It was quite the attitude that one sees in 
some of the pictures of “ little Samuel,”—as if the 
king were more than man. After the child—whose 
sole costume consisted of a string or two of gold 
beads, jewelled, and perhaps a pair of bracelets— 
crawled his mother, who joined the group of pros¬ 
trate subjects. The little boy, by reason of his 
tender age, was allowed more liberty than the oth¬ 
ers, and moved about almost as unembarrassed as 
the big dog‘* Watch ;” but when he grows older, he 
will humble himself like the others. To see men 
and women degraded literally to a level with the 
beasts that perish, was all the more strange and 
sad by contrast with the civilization which was 
shown in the conversation and manners of the 
king, and in all the furniture of his palace. I half 
expected to see the portrait of the real George 
Washington on the wall blush with shame and in¬ 
dignation as it looked down on the reptile attitude 
of his namesake ; and I felt a sensation of relief 


106 


SIAM. 


when, at last, it became time for me to leave, and 
the young prince, crawling after me until we 
reached the steps, was once more on his legs. 

But it seemed to me then, and a subsequent in¬ 
terview with the king confirmed the feeling, that I 
had been in one of the most remarkable palaces, 
and with one of the most remarkable men, in the 
world. Twice afterward I saw him ; once when 
our captain and a detachment of the officers of the 
ship waited upon him by his invitation, and spent 
a most agreeable evening, socially, enlivened with 
music by the band, and broadsword and musket 
exercise by a squad of troops, and refreshed by a 
handsome supper in the dining-room of the-palace, 
on the walls of which hung engravings of all the 
American Presidents from Washington down to 
Jackson. I do not know who enjoyed the even¬ 
ing most ; the king, to whom the companionship 
of educated foreigners was a luxury which he 
could not always command, or we, to whom the 
strange spectacle which I have been trying to de¬ 
scribe was one at which the more we gazed the 
more “ the wonder grew.” Indeed, we felt so plea¬ 
santly at home that when we said good-bye, and 
left the pleasant, comfortable, home-like rooms in 
which we had been sitting, the piano and the mu¬ 
sical boxes, the cheery hospitality of our good- 
natured host, and dropped down the river to the 
narrow quarters of our ship, it was with something 
of the sadness which attends the parting from one’s 
native land, when the loved faces on the shore 
grow dim and disappear, and the swelling can- 


A ROYAL GENTLEMAN. 


107 


vas overhead fills and stiffens with the seaward 
wind. 

But we had an opportunity of repaying some¬ 
thing of the king’s politeness, for, in response to 
an invitation of the captain, he did what no king 
had ever done before—came down the river and 
spent an hour or two on board our ship, (the 
U. S. sloop-of-war Portsmouth, Captain A. H. 
Foote commanding,) and was received with royal 
honors, even to the manning of the yards. We 
made him heartily welcome, and the captain gave 
the handsomest dinner which the skill of John¬ 
son, his experienced steward, could prepare—that 
venerable colored person recognizing the import¬ 
ance of the occasion, and aware that he might 
never again be called upon to get a dinner for a 
king. The captain did not fail to ask a blessing 
as they drew about the table, taking pains to ex¬ 
plain to his guest the sacred significance of that 
Christian act—for it was at such a time as this 
especially, that the good admiral was wont to 
show the colors of the “ King Eternal ” whom he 
served. The royal party carefully inspected the 
whole ship, with shrewd and intelligent curiosity, 
and before they left we hoisted the white elephant 
at the fore, and our big guns roared forth the 
king’s salute. Nor was one visit enough, but the 
next day he came again, retiring for the night to 
the little steamer on which he had made the 
journey down the river from Bangkok. It was a 
little fussy thing, just big enough to hold its ma¬ 
chinery and to carry its paddle-wheels, but was 


108 


SIAM. 


dignified with the imposing name of “ Royal Seat 
or Siamese Steam Force.” It was made in the 
United States, and put together by one of the 
American missionaries in Bangkok. It was the 
only steamer in the Siamese waters, but it will 
doubtless prove to be the pioneer of many others 
that shall make the Meinam River lively with the 
stir of an increasing commerce. 

We saw no more of the little steamer and its 
master, for, as the smoke of its funnel marked its 
progress up the river, we were busy with the stir 
of getting under way. It may be puffing up and 
down the river yet, but I cannot help a feeling 
of sadness as I remember that among the deaths 
of the year 1866 occurred the name of his ma¬ 
jesty, the second king of Siam. The labor of 
writing out these recollections of him has been the 
more willingly undertaken, because it seemed to me 
only a fit acknowledgment of his intelligent friend¬ 
ship for America and the Americans. I suppose 
that, according to Siamese custom, his body was 
burned with great pomp and ceremony, and the 
ashes treasured up with appropriate reverence. 
Peace to his ashes, wherever they be ! Let us 
hope that he has gone w r here good kings go. 

At the death of the second king, his elder bro¬ 
ther issued a royal document containing a bio¬ 
graphical sketch and an estimate of his character. 
It is written in the peculiar style, pedantic and 
conceited, by which the first king’s literary efforts 
are distinguished, but an extract from it deserves 


A ROYAL GENTLEMAN. 


109 


on all accounts to be quoted. These two broth¬ 
ers, both of extraordinary talents, and, on the 
whole, of illustrious character and history, lived 
for the most part on terms of fraternal attach¬ 
ment and kindness, although some natural jealousy 
would seem to have grown up during the last few 
years of their lives, leading to the temporary re¬ 
tirement of the second king to a country-seat near 
Chieng Mai, in the hill-country of the Upper Mei- 
nam. Here he spent much of his time during 
his last years, and here he added to his harem a 
new wife, to whom he was tenderly attached. He 
returned to Bangkok to die, and was sincerely ho¬ 
nored and lamented, not only by his own people, 
to whom he had been a wise and faithful friend 
and ruler, but also by many of other lands, to 
whom the fame of his high character had become 
known. His brother’s “ general order ” announc¬ 
ing his decease, contains the following para¬ 
graph : 

“ He made everything new and beautiful and of 
curious appearance, and of a good style of archi¬ 
tecture and much stronger than they had formerly 
been constructed by his three predecessors the 
second kings of the last three reigns, for the space 
of time that he was second king. He had intro¬ 
duced and collected many and many things, being 
articles of great curiosity, and things useful for vari¬ 
ous purposes of military arts and affairs, from Europe 
and America, China and other states, and planted 
them in various departments and rooms or buildings 
suitable for these articles, and placed officers for 


110 


SIAM. 


maintaining and preserving the various things neatly 
and carefully. He has constructed several buildings 
in European fashion and Chinese fashion, and or¬ 
namented them with various useful ornaments for 
his pleasure, and has constructed two steamers in 
manner of men of war, and two steam-yachts and 
several rowing state-boats in Siamese and Cochin- 
China fashion, for his pleasure at sea and rivers of 
Siam; and caused several articles of gold and 
silver, being vessels and various wares and weapons, 
to be made up by the Siamese and Malayan gold¬ 
smiths, for employ and dress for himself and his 
family, by his direction and skillful contrivance and 
ability.' He became celebrated and spread out 
more and more to various regions of the Siamese 
kingdom, adjacent states around, and far famed to 
foreign countries even at far distance, as he became 
acquainted with many and many foreigners, who 
came from various quarters of the world where his 
name became known to most as a very clever and 
bravest prince of Siam.” 

Much more of this royal document is quoted in 
Mrs. Leonowens’ “ English Governess at the Court 
of Siam.” 


CHAPTER VIII. 


PHRABAT SOMDETCH PHRA PARAMENDR MAHA 
MONGKUT. 

m 

I N some respects, the most conspicuous name 
in the history of the civilization of Siam will 
always be that of the king under whose enlight¬ 
ened and liberal administrstion of government the 
kingdom was thrown open to foreign intercourse, and 
the commerce, the science and even the religion 
of the western world accepted if not invited. His 
son, the present first king, is following in the 
steps of his father, and has already introduced some 
noteworthy reforms and changes, the importance 
of which is very great. But the way was opened 
for these changes by the wise and bold policy of 
the late king, whose death, in 1868, closed a career 
of usefulness which entitles him to a high place 
among the benefactors of his age. 

A description of this king and of his court is 
furnished from the same editorial narrative from 
which the last two chapters have been chiefly 
quoted. It will be remembered that the period 
to which the narrative refers is the year 1857, 
the time of the visit of the “Portsmouth,” with 
the ratification of the American treaty. 


112 


SIAM 


His majesty, the first king of Siam, kindly gives 
us our choice of titles by which, and of languages in 
which, he may be designated. To his own people 
he appears in an array of syllables sufficiently aston¬ 
ishing to our eyes and ears, as Phrabat Somdetch 
Phra Paramendr Maha. Mongkut Phra Chau Klau 
Chau Yu Hud; but to outsiders he announces him¬ 
self as simply the first king of Siam and its depend¬ 
encies ; or, in treaties and other official documents, 
as “ Rex Major,” or “ Supremus Rexjffiamensium.” 
The Latin is his, not mine. And I am bound to ac¬ 
knowledge that the absolute supremacy which the 
“ supremus ” indicates is qualified by his recognition 
of the “ blessing of highest and greatest superagency 
of the universe,” by which blessing his own sover¬ 
eignty exists. He has been quick to learn the 
maxim which monarchs are not ever slow to learn 
nor slow to use, that “ Kings reign by the grace of 
God.” And it is, to say the least, a safe conjecture 
that the maxim has as much power over his con¬ 
science as it has had over the consciences of. some 
kings much more civilized and orthodox than he. 

This polyglot variety of titles indicates a varied, 
though somewhat superficial learning. Before he 
came to the throne, the king had lived for several 
years in the seclusion of a Buddhist monastery. 
Promotion from the priesthood to the throne is an 
event so unusual in any country except Siam, that it 
might seem full of risk. But in this instance it has 
worked well. During the years of his monastic life 
he grew to be a thoughtful, studious man, and he 
brought with him to his kingly office a singular 



TIIE LATE FIRST KING AND QUEEN, 


























































































PHBABAT SOMD ETCH. 


113 


gravity and dignity, and a wide familiarity with lit¬ 
erature. Even now he loves to style himself “ pro¬ 
fessor of Pali language and Buddhistical literature.” 
And his priestly learning has borne good fruit al¬ 
ready. For, when he came to test the Buddhistic 
cosmogony, with which he had become familiar in 
the monastery, by Christian science, he discovered 
that it could not stand, and accordingly he rejects 
it, retaining the ethical precepts of Buddhism, and 
defending them (as I am told) by the fact of their con¬ 
formity to Christian ethics. I presume that his ma¬ 
jesty did not learn Latin in his monastery, nor En¬ 
glish either. But, chiefly by his intercourse with 
the missionaries he has acquired a fair knowledge of 
the one, and a practical and most valuable acquain¬ 
tance with the other. He sent more than one long 
autograph letter, written in good English, to our 
government, during the negotiation of our treaty 
with him, and has taken various ways of expressing 
the interest and confidence of his “ minor country ” 
in a “ superior powerful major country, such as the 
United States.” 

One proposal which he made, during the admin¬ 
istration of President Lincoln, provoked some amuse¬ 
ment when the correspondence containing it was laid 
before Congress and published in the newspapers. 
Mr. John Leech has depicted, in one of the most 
delightful of his sketches, the consternation of a 
British household when an “ old gentleman, anxious 
that his wife should possess some trifle from the 
great exhibition of 1851, purchases (among other 
things) the stuffed elephant and the model of the 


114 


SIAM. 


dodo.” But his majesty of Siam proposed to send 
to us not one, but many pairs of elephants, and those 
not stuffed, but dreadfully alive. Two motives seem 
to have prompted him to this alarming generosity. 
He had heard that elephants were “ regarded as the 
most remarkable of the large quadrupeds,” and were 
exhibited for a price to throngs of wondering spec¬ 
tators. So to multiply them that they might be seen 
for nothing, would be an act for which generations 
of unborn Americans might bless the name (if they 
could pronounce it) of Somdetch Phra Paramendr 
Maha Mongkut. The oppressive monopoly of the 
menageries would be broken down ; and to “ see the 
elephant” would no longer be a phrase available for 
the figurative uses to which'it has long been applied. 
Had the good king been permitted to carry out his 
plan, wild beasts might have become a drug in the 
market, and showmen might have been driven in 
despair to Congress, before their time. But there 
was another motive for the proposal. The king had 
heard that camels had been introduced as beasts of 
burden on the Western plains. But if there were 
Western plains that needed camels, there were also, 
he argued, Southern jungles in America that needed 
elephants. And whence could the supply so fitly 
come as from the land of the White Elephant, and 
from the king who had placed that serene quadruped 
upon his banner ? This was his own view as he him¬ 
self expressed it. “ It has occurred to us,” he says, 
“ that if on the continent of America there should be 
several pairs of young male and female elephants 
turned loose in forests where was abundance of water 


P HR ABA T 80MDETGH. 


115 


and grass, in any region under the sun’s declination 
both north and south, called by the English the torrid 
zone, and all were forbidden to molest them, to 
attempt to raise them would be well; and, if the 
climate there should prove favorable to elephants, 
we are of opinion that after a while they will increase 
until there be large herds, as there are here on the 
continent of Asia, until the inhabitants of America 
will be able to catch and tame them and use them 
as beasts of burden, making them of benefit to the 
country, since elephants, being animals of great size 
and strength, can bear burdens and travel through 
woods and jungles where no cart-roads have yet been 
made.” Having stated his proposal in this pro¬ 
longed and complicated but amiable sentence, the 
king proceeds to give directions in detail for the care 
and management of the expected elephants. But 
the government of the United States felt bound to 
decline the offer, not deeming it feasible that the 
beasts should “ be turned out to run wild ” in any 
part of our Southern country. It was about that 
time that Mr. Artemus Ward had reported an exper¬ 
iment of the same sort with the wild animals of his 
“ confisticated ” show ; and perhaps the acceptance 
of the king’s proposal would have seemed to the 
President too much like a practical repetition of the 
great showman’s imaginary adventure. 

It is safe to say that the second king could not 
have made such a mistake as to suppose that the 
elephant scheme )vas a practicable one. But “ rex 
supremus ” has been so much occupied with the 
cares of government that his familiarity with foreign 


116 


SIAM. 


countries is not so minute as was that of his youn¬ 
ger brother, of whose character and acquirements 
some glimpse, was furnished in the last chapter. 
He is a scholar, and knows the world through 
books rather than through men. And his manner 
of speaking English is less easy and accurate than 
his brother’s was. But, on the other hand, the 
“ pomp and circumstance ” of his court was statelier 
and stranger, and is worthy of a better description. 
The second king received us with such gentlemanly 
urbanity and freedom, that it was hard to realize the 
fact that- we were in the presence of royalty. But 
our reception by the first king was arranged on what 
the newspapers would call “ a scale of Oriental mag¬ 
nificence,” and it lingers in memory like some dreamy 
recollection of the splendors of the Arabian Nights. 

One of the most singular illustrations of the ups 
and downs of nations and of races which history af¬ 
fords, is to be seen in the position of the Portuguese 
in Siam. They came there centuries ago as a supe¬ 
rior race, in all the dignity and pride of discoverers, 
and with all the romantic daring of adventurous ex¬ 
ploration. Nqw there is only a worn-out remnant 
of them left, degraded almost to the level of the 
Asiatics, to whom they brought the name and 
knowledge of the Western world. They have mixed 
with the Siamese, till, at the first, it is difficult to 
distinguish them as having European blood and lin¬ 
eage. But when we asked who the grotesque old 
creatures might be who came to us on messages 
from the king, or guided us when we went to see the 
wonders of the city, or superintended the cooking of 


PHRABAT SOMDETCH. 


117 


our meals, or performed various menial services 
about our dwelling, we found that they were half- 
breed descendants of the Portuguese who once 
flourished here. When we landed at the mouth of 
the river on our way to Bangkok for an audience 
with the king, one of the first persons whom we en¬ 
countered was one of these demoralized Europeans. 
He made a ridiculous assertion of his lineage in the 
style of his costume. Disdaining the Siamese fash¬ 
ions, he had made for himself or had inherited a swal¬ 
low-tailed coat of sky-blue silk, and pantaloons of 
purple silk, in which he seemed to feel himself the 
equal of any of us. Had any doubt as to his ancestry 
lingered in our minds, it must have been removed by 
a most ancient and honorable stove-pipe hat, which 
had evidently been handed down from father to 
son, through the generations, as a rusty relic of 
grander days. This old gentleman was in charge 
of a bountiful supply of provisions which the 
king had sent for us. Indeed, I suspect that 
they had been cooked under his personal su¬ 
pervision, for the cookery was as ambitious an 
imitation of European cookery a^ his costume 
was of European costume, and seemed to have a 
kind of ancient and hereditary mustiness. From 
time to time, during our stay, this old gentleman 
would reappear, chiefly in connection with culinary 
phenomena, and we saw our last of him only at the 
last banquet which the royal hospitality provided for 
us. It was hard not to moralize over the old man 
as the representative of a nation which had all the 
time been going backward since it led the van of dis- 


118 


SIAM. 


covery in the Indies centuries ago ; while the people 
whom his ancestors found heathenish and benighted 
are starting on a career of improvement and eleva¬ 
tion of which no man can prophesy the rate or the 
result. 

The old Portuguese referred to would seem to 
be the same whom Sir John Bowring mentions in 
the following passage, and who has been so long a 
faithful servant of the government of Siam that his 
great age and long-continued services entitle him to 
a word of honorable mention, notwithstanding the 
droll appearance which he presented in his remark¬ 
able costume. Sir John Bowring, writing in 1856, 
says : 

“ Among the descendants of the ancient Portu¬ 
guese settlers in Siam, there was one who especiallv 
excited our attention. He was the master of the 
ceremonies at our arrival in Pakuam, and from his 
supposed traditional or hereditary acquaintance‘.with 
the usages of European courts, we found him in¬ 
vested with great authority on all state occasions. 
He wore a European court dress, which he told me 
had been given him by Sir James Brooke, and 
which, like a rusty, old cocked hat, was somewhat 
the worse for wear. But I was not displeased to 
recognize in him a gentleman whom Mr. Crawford 
(the British ambassador in 1822) thus describes : 

“ ‘ July 10th, (1822.) I had in the course of this 
forenoon a visit from a person of singular modesty 
and intelligence. Pascal Bibeiro de Alvergarias, the 
descendant of a Portuguese Christian of Kamboja. 
This gentleman holds a high Siamese title, and a 


PHRABAT SOMDETCH. 


119 


post of considerable importance. Considering his 
means and situation, his acquirements were remark¬ 
able, for he not only spoke and wrote the Siamese, 
Kambojan, and Portuguese languages with facility, 
but also spoke and wrote Latin with considerable 
propriety. We found, indeed, a smattering of Latin 
very frequent among the Portuguese interpreters at 
Bangkok, but Senor Ribeiro was the only individual 
who made any pretence to speak it with accuracy. 
He informed us that he was the descendant of a 
person of the same name, who settled at Kamboja 
in the year 1685. His lady’s genealogy, however, 
interested us more than his own. She was the lin¬ 
eal descendant of an Englishman, of the name of 
Charles Lister, a merchant, who settled in Kamboja 
in the year 1701, and who had acquired some repu¬ 
tation at the court by making pretence to a know¬ 
ledge in medicine. Charles Lister had come imme¬ 
diately from Madras, and brought with him his sis¬ 
ter. This lady espoused a Portuguese of Kamboja, 
by whom she had a son, who took her own name. 
Her grandson, of this name also, in the revolution 
of the kingdom of Kamboja, found his way to Siam.; 
and here, like his great-uncle, practicing the healing 
art, rose to the station of M&ha-pet, or first physi¬ 
cian to the king. The son of this individual, Caji- 
tanus Lister, is at present the physician, and at the 
same time the minister and confidential adviser of 
the present king of Kamboja. His sister is the 
wife of the subject of this short notice. Senor Ri- 
beiro favored us with the most authentic and satis- 


120 


SIAM. 


factory account which we had yet obtained of the 
late revolution and present state of Kamboja.’ ” 

It is not safe always to judge by the appearance. 
This grotesque old personage, whom the narrative 
describes, represented a story of strange and roman¬ 
tic interest, extending through two centuries of 
wonderful vicissitude, and involving the blending of 
widely separated nationalities. But to resume the 
narrative : 

When at last, after our stay in Bangkok was al¬ 
most at an end, we were invited by “ supremus rex ” 
to spend the evening at his palace, we found our 
friend of the beaver hat and sky-blue coat and 
purple breeches in charge of a squad of attendants 
in one of the outer buildings of the court, where we 
were to beguile the time with more refreshments 
until his majesty should be ready for us. Every¬ 
thing about us was on a larger scale than at the 
second king’s—the grounds more spacious, and the 
various structures with which they were filled, the 
temples, armories, and storehouses, of more ambi¬ 
tious size and style, but not so neat and orderly. A 
crowd of admiring spectators clustered about the 
windows of the room in which we were waiting, 
watching with breathless interest to see the stran¬ 
gers eat: so that as we sat in all the glory of 
cocked hats and epaulets, we had the double satis¬ 
faction of giving and receiving entertainment. 

But presently there came a messenger to say 
that the king was ready for us. And so we walked 
on between the sentries, who saluted us with mili¬ 
tary exactness, and between the stately halls that 


PHRABAT SOMDETCH. 


121 


ran on either hand, until a large, closed gateway 
barred our way. Swinging open as we stood before 
them, the gates closed silently behind us, and we 
found ourselves in the august presence of “ Rex Su- 
premus Siamensium.” 

It might almost have been “ the good Haroun 
Alraschid ” and “ the great pavilion of the ealiphat 
in inmost Bagdad,” that w T e had come to, it was so 
imposing a scene, and so characteristically Oriental. 
What I had read of in the Arabian Nights, and 
hardly thought was possible except in such roman¬ 
tic stories, seemed to be realized. Here was a king 
worth seeing, a real king, with a real crown on, and 
with real pomp of royalty about him. I think that 
every American who goes abroad has a more or less 
distinct sense of being defrauded of his just rights 
when, in Paris or Berlin, for example, he goes out 
to see the king or emperor, and is shown a plainly- 
dressed man driving quietly and almost undistin¬ 
guished among the throng of carriages. We feel 
that this is not at all what we came for, nor what 
we had been led to expect when, as schoolboys, we 
read about imperial magnificence and regal splen¬ 
dor, and the opulence of the “ crowned heads.” The 
crowned head might have passed before our very 
eyes, and we would not have known it if we had not 
been told. Not so in Bangkok. This was “ a good¬ 
ly king ” indeed. And all the circumstances of time 
and place seemed to be so managed as to intensify 
the singular charm and beauty of the scene. 

W T e stood in a large court, paved with broad, 
smooth slabs of marble, and open to the sky, which 


122 


SIAM. 


was beginning to be rosy with the sunset. All about 
us were magnificent palace buildings, with shining 
white walls, and with roofs of gleaming green and 
gold. Broad avenues, with the same marble pave¬ 
ment, led in various directions to the temples and 
the audience halls. Here and there the dazzling 
whiteness of the buildings and the pavement was 
relieved by a little dark, tropical foliage ; and, as the 
sunset grew more ruddy every instant, 

‘ A sudden splendor from behind 
Flushed all the leaves with rich gold green,’ 

and tinged the whole bright court with just the 
necessary warmth of color. There was the most 
perfect stillness, broken only by the sound of our 
footsteps on the marble, and, except ourselves, not 
a creature was moving. Here and there, singly or 
in groups, about the spacious court, prostrate, with 
faces on the stone, in motionless and obsequious 
reverence, as if they were in the presence of a god 
and not of a man, grovelled the subjects of the 
mighty sovereign into whose presence we were ap¬ 
proaching. It was hard for the stoutest democrat 
to resist a momentary feeling of sympathy with 
such universal awe; and to remember that, after all, 
as Hamlet says, a “ king is a thing . . of nothing.” 
So contagious is the obsequiousness of a royal court 
and so admirably effective was the arrangement of 
the whole scene. 

The group toward which we were advancing 
was a good way in front of the gateway by which 
we had entered. There was a crouching sword- 


PHRABAT SOMDETCH. 


123 


bearer, holding upright a long sword in a heavily 
embossed golden scabbard. There were other at¬ 
tendants, holding jewel-cases or elegant betel-nut 
boxes—all prostrate. There were others still ready 
to crawl off in obedience to orders, on whatever er¬ 
rands might be necessary. There were three or 
four very beautiful little children, the king’s sons, 
kneeling behind their father, and shining with the 
chains of jewelled gold which hung about their 
naked bodies. More in front there crouched a ser¬ 
vant holding high a splendid golden canopy, beneath 
which stood the king. He wore a grass-cloth jacket, 
loosely buttoned with diamonds, and a rich silken 
scarf, which, wound about the waist, hung gracefully 
to his knees. Below this was an unadorned expos¬ 
ure of bare shins, and his feet were loosely slippered. 
But on his head he wore a cap or crown that fairly 
blazed with brilliant gems, some of them of great 
size and costly value. There was not wanting in his 
manner a good deal of natural dignity; although it 
was constrained and embarrassed. It was in 
marked contrast with the cheerful and unceremo¬ 
nious freedom of the second king. He seemed bur¬ 
dened with the care of government and saddened 
with anxiety, and as if he knew his share of the un¬ 
easiness of “ the head that wears a crown.” 

“ He stood in conversation with us for a few mo¬ 
ments, and then led the way to a little portico in the 
Chinese style of architecture, where we sat through 
an hour of talk, and drink, and jewelry, mixed in 
pretty equal proportions. For there were some de¬ 
tails of business in connection with the treaty that 


124 


SIAM. 


required to be talked over. And there were senti¬ 
ments of international amity to be proposed and 
drunk after the Occidental fashion. And there were 
the magnificent royal diamonds and other gems to 
be produced for our admiring inspection—great em¬ 
eralds of a more vivid green than the dark tropical 
foliage, and rubies and all various treasures which 
the Indian mines afford, till the place shone before 
our eyes, thicker 

* With jewels than the sward with drops of dew, 

When all night long a cloud clings to the hill, 

And with the dawn ascending lets the day 
Strike where it clung ; so thickly shone the gems. ’ 

All the while the nobles were squatting or lying 
on the floor, and the children were playing in a sub¬ 
dued and quiet way at the king’s feet. Somehow 
the beauty of these little Siamese children seemed 
to me very remarkable. As they grow older, they 
grow lean, and wrinkled, and ugly. But while they 
are children they are pretty “ as a picture ”—as some 
of those pictures, for example, in the Italian galle¬ 
ries. Going quite innocent of clothing, they are 
very straight and plump in figure, and unhindered 
in their grace of motion. And they used to bear 
themselves with a simple and modest dignity that 
was very winning. They have the soft and lustrous 
eyes, the shining teeth, (as yet unstained by betel- 
nut,) the pleasant voices, which are the birthright of 
the children of the tropics. In default of clothes, 
they are stained all over with some pigment, which 
makes their skin a lively yellow, and furnishes a 


PHRABAT S0MDE1CH. 


125 


shade of contrast for the deeper color of the gold 
which hangs around their necks and arms. I used 
to compare them, to their great advantage, with the 
Chinese children. It is said that in some parts of 
China, when a child is weaned, the first animal food 
that is given him must be a goose’s head, in the 
hope that he may thus acquire the haughty and dig¬ 
nified bearing of that noble bird. And I used to 
think that the Chinese had been successful to the 
utmost limit of their ambition in acquiring the cov¬ 
eted style. From a very tender age the Chinese 
child is ludicrous. But these little children of the 
king, like all the children of the Siamese nobility, 
were patterned after a different ideal. Partly, no 
doubt, the contrast of their freedom with the reptile 
attitude of all the grown-up people in the presence 
of the king, made them seem manlier and nobler. 
But it is certain that the picturesque group that 
filled the portico where we were sitting, would have 
lacked much of its charm and beauty if the little 
folks had not been present. Playing, unhindered by 
the fear of royal dignity, and unembarrassed by the 
ceremonious stiffness of a royal audience, while the 
nobles crouched like beasts, and crawled like snakes 
around us, their presence supplied that “ touch of 
nature,” which made us all, of whatsoever race or 
rank or language, “ kin.” 

The contrast between these children and their 
neighbors of China might be extended further. 
There is not in Siam, at least there is not in the 
same degree, that obstinate conceit behind which, 
as behind a barrier, the Chinese have stood for cen- 


126 


SIAM. 


turies, resisting stubbornly the entrance of all light 
and civilization from without. I do not know what 
possible power could extort from a Chinese official 
the acknowledgment which this king freely made, 
that his people were “ half civilized and half bar¬ 
barous, being very ignorant of civilized and enlight¬ 
ened customs and usages.” Such an admission from 
a Chinaman would be like the demolition of their 
great northern wall. It is true of nations as it is of 
individuals, that pride is the most stubborn obstacle 
in the way of all real progress. And national hu¬ 
mility is the earnest of national exaltation. There¬ 
fore it is that the condition of things at the Siamese 
court seems to me so full of promise. 

By and by the king withdrew, and intimated that 
he would presently meet us again at an entertain¬ 
ment in an other part of the palace. His disap¬ 
pearance was the signal for the resurrection of 
the prostrate noblemen, who started up all around 
us in an unexpected way, like toads after a rain. 
Moving toward the new apartment where our “ en¬ 
tertainment ” was prepared, we saw the spacious 
court to new advantage. For the night had come 
while we had waited, and the mellow light from the 
tropic stars and burning constellations flowed down 
upon us through the fragrant night air. Mingling 
with this white star light was the ruddy light that 
came through palace windows from lamps fed by 
fragrant oil of cocoa-nut, and from the moving tor¬ 
ches of our attendants. And as we walked through 
the broad avenues dimly visibly in this mixed 
light, some gilded window arch or overhanging 



ONE OF THE SONS OF TIIE LATE FIRST KING 













































































PBUABAT SOMDETCH. 


127 


roof with gold-green tiles, or the varied costume 
of the moving group of which we formed a part, 
would stand out from the shadowy darkness with a 
sudden and most picturesque distinctness. So we 
came at last to the apartment where the king had 
promised to rejoin us. 

Here the apparition of our old sky-blue friend, 
the beaver-hatted Portuguese, suggested that a 
dinner was impending, and, if we might judge by 
his uncommon nervousness of manner, it must be a 
dinner of unprecedented style. And certainly there 
was a feast, sufficiently sumptuous and very elegant¬ 
ly served, awaiting our arrival. At one side of the 
room, on a raised platform, was a separate table for 
the king, and beside it, awaiting his arrival, was his 
throne. 


* ‘ From which 

Down dropped in many a floating fold, 

Engarlanded and diapered 

With inwrought flowers, a cloth of gold.” 

In the bright light of many lamps the room was 
strangely beautiful. On one side, doors opened into 
a stately temple, out of which presently the king 
came forth. And as, when he had disappeared, the 
nobles seemed to come out from the ground like 
toads, so now, like toads, they squatted, and the 
sovereign of the squatters took his seat above them. 

Presentlv there was music. A band of native 
musicians stationed at the foot of the king’s throne 
commenced a lively performance on their instru¬ 
ments. It was strange, wild music, with a plaintive 
sweetness, that was very enchanting. The tones 


128 


SIAM. 


were liquid as the gurgling of a mountain brook, 
and rose and fell in the same irregular measure. 
And when to the first band of instruments there 
was added another in a different part of the room, 
the air became tremulous with sweet vibrations, and 
the wild strains lingered softly about the gilded 
eaves and cornices and floated upward toward the 
open sky. 

It seemed that the fascination of the scene 
would be complete if there were added the poetry of 
motion. And so, in came the dancers, a dozen 
young girls, pretty and modest, and dressed in robes 
of which I cannot describe the profuse and costly 
ornamentation. The gold and jewels fairly crusted 
them, and, as the dancers moved, the light flashed 
from the countless gems at every motion. As each 
one entered the apartment, she approached the 
king, and, reverently kneeling, slowly lifted her 
joined hands as if in adoration. All the movements 
were gracefully timed to the sweet barbaric music, 
and were slow and languid, and as quiet as the 
movements in a dream. We sat and watched them 
dreamily, half bewildered by the splendor which our 
eyes beheld, and the sweetness which our ears 
heard, till the night was well advanced and it was 
time to go. It was a sudden shock to all our Orien¬ 
tal reveries, when, as we rose to leave, his majesty 
requested that we would give him three cheers. It 
was the least we could do in return for his royal hos¬ 
pitality, and accordingly the captain led off in the 
demonstration, while the rest of us joined in with all 
the heartiness of voice that we could summon. But 


PHRABAT SOMDETCH. 


129 


it broke the charm. Those occidental cheers, that 
hoarse Anglo-Saxon roar, had no proper place 
among these soft and sensuous splendors, which had 
held us captive all the evening, till we had well-nigh 
forgotten the every- day world of work and duty to 
which we belonged. 

Even now I sometimes think I know the glorious 
Lotos land of which the poet sings. And if 1 am 
ever skeptical about the wonders of the Arabian 
Nights, I remember that I have myself been among 
them, and have seen them with my own eyes, and so 
they must be true. It was hard to leave the splen¬ 
dor of the tropics and the pomp of the king’s court, 
and all the various wonders of the kingdom of the 
White Elephant, for “ the wandering fields of barren 
foam doubly hard to go from this graceful barbar¬ 
ism to the stiff and wooden semi-civilization of 
China. And as we saw the palm-trees at the mouth 
of the Meinam dwindle to specks on the horizon, and 
the blue hills of Chantiboun grow thin and faint 
with the increasing distance, it was as when, with a 
great sigh of overstrained attention and enjoyment, 
one rises from the sound of some great music, and 
comes slowly back to the ordinary humdrum routine 
of daily life. 

It is when we remember the enervating influ¬ 
ence of the drowsy tropics upon character, that we 
learn fitly to honor the men and women by whom 
the inauguration of this new era in Siamese history 
has been brought about. To live for a little while 
among these sensuous influences without any very 
serious intellectual work to do, or any very grave 
moral responsibility to bear, is one thing; but to 


130 


SIAM. 


spend a life among them, with such a constant strain 
upon the mind and heart as the laying of Christian 
foundations among a heathen people must always 
necessitate, is quite another thing. This is what the 
missionaries in Siam have to do. Their battle is 
not with the prejudices of heathenism only, nor with 
the vices and ignorance of bad men only. It is a 
battle with nature itself. To the passing traveller, 
half intoxicated with the beauty of the country and 
the rich splendor of that oriental world, it may seem 
a charming thing to live there, and no uninviting 
lot to be a missionary in such pleasant places. But 
the very attractiveness of the field to one who sees 
it as a visitor, and who is dazzled by its splendors 
as he looks upon it out of kings’ palaces, is what 
makes it all the harder for one who goes with hard, 
self-sacrificing work to do. The fierce sun wilts the 
vigor of his mind and scorches up the fresh enthusi¬ 
asm of his heart. 

“Droops the heavy-blossomed flower, hangs the heavy-fruited 
tree.” 

And all the beautiful earth, and all the drowsy air, 
and all the soft blue sky invite to sloth and ease and 
luxury. 

Therefore I give the greater honor to the earn¬ 
est men and to the patient women who are laboring 
and praying for the coming of the Christian day to 
this benighted people. 

His majesty, Phrabat Somdetch Phra Para- 
mendr Maha Mongkut closed his remarkable ca¬ 
reer on the 1st of October, 1868, under circum- 


phrabat SOMDETCII. 


131 


stances of peculiar interest. Amid all tlie cares 
and anxieties of government, lie had never ceased 
to occupy himself with matters of literary and sci¬ 
entific importance. Questions of scholarship in 
any one of the languages of which he was more or 
less master were always able to divert and en¬ 
gage his attention. And the approach of the 
great solar eclipse in August, 1868, was an event, 
the coming of which he had himself determined 
by his own reckoning, and for which he waited 
with an impatience half philosophic and half child¬ 
ish. A special observatory was built for the occa¬ 
sion, and an exped tion of extraordinary magnitude 
and on a scale of great expenditure and pomp 
was equipped by the king’s command to accompa¬ 
ny him to the post of observation. A great reti¬ 
nue both of natives and of foreigners, including 
a French scientific commission, attended his ma¬ 
jesty, and were entertained at royal expense. And 
the eclipse was satisfactorily witnessed to the great 
delight of the king, whose scientific enthusiasm 
found abundant expression when his calculation 
was proved accurate. 

It was, however, almost his last expedition of any 
kind. Even before setting out there had been evi¬ 
dent signs that his health was breaking. And upon 
his return it was soon apparent that excitement and 
fatigue and the malaria of the jungle had wrought 
upon him with fatal results. He died calmly, pre¬ 
serving to the end that philosophic composure to 
which his training in the Buddhist priesthood had 
accustomed him. His private life in his own pal- 


132 


SIAM. 


ace and among his wives and children, has been 
pictured in an entertaining way by Mrs. Leonow- 
ens, the English lady whose services he employed 
as governess to his young children. He had appa¬ 
rently his free share of the faults and vices to 
which his savage nature and his position as an Ori¬ 
ental despot, with almost unlimited wealth and 
power, gave easy opportunity. It is therefore all 
the more remarkable that he should have exhibited 
such sagacity and firmness in his government, and 
such scholarly enthusiasm in his devotion to litera¬ 
ture and science. Pedantic he seems to us often, 
and with more or less arrogant conceit of his own 
ability and acquirements. It is easy to laugh at 
the queer English which he wrote with such reck¬ 
less fluency and spoke with such confident volubil¬ 
ity. But it is impossible to deny that his reign was, 
for the kingdom which he governed, the beginning 
of a new era ; and that whatever advance in civili¬ 
zation the country is now making, or shall make, 
will be largely due to the courage and wisdom and 
willingness to learn which he enforced by precept 
and example. He died in some sense a martyr to 
science, while at the same time he adhered, to the 
last, tenaciously, and it would seem from some im¬ 
aginary obligation of honor, to the religious philo¬ 
sophy in which he had been trained, and of which 
he was one of the most eminent defenders. His 
character and his history are full of the strangest 
contrasts between the heathenish barbarism in 
which he was born and the Christian civilization 


PHRABAT SOMDETCH. 


133 


toward which, more or less consciously, he was 
bringing the people whom he governed. It is in 
part the power of such contrasts which gives to his 
reign such extraordinary and picturesque interest. 


CHAPTER IX. 


SIR HARRY ORD’S YISIT TO HUA-WAN—THE GREAT 
ECLIPSE—AN ASTRONOMICAL FETE. 

HE late king lost his life, as was stated in the 



i last chapter, in consequence of the exposure 
and excitement incident to his expedition to Hua- 
wan at the time of the solar eclipse of 1868. An 
account of this expedition, and description of the 
king as he appeared at the close of his reign, is cop¬ 
ied in the Bangkok Calendar of 1870,*and is from 
the .pen of one of the suite of Sir Harry St. 
George Ord, the governor of Singapore and of the 
British Straits settlements. He was by special in¬ 
vitation a guest of the king, and especial interest 
attaches to his visit from the circumstances in 
which, and the time at which it was made. 

“ Hua-wan is a village situated within Siamese 
territory, on the east coast of the Malay Peninsu¬ 
la, in lat. 11° 38' N., and long. 99° 39' E., and al¬ 
most at the foot of the mountain Kow Luan, 4,236 
feet high. The king of Siam, whose scientific ac¬ 
quirements are well known, had taken a great in¬ 
terest in the eclipse of the sun, which it was calcu- 


THE GREA T ECLIPSE. 


135 


lated would happen on the 18th August, and as the 
line of the central eclipse passed very near this 
spot, which was also the place on the earth’s sur¬ 
face where the maximum duration of totality would 
be attained, his majesty determined to go there 
and select a site in its immediate neighborhood for 
the observation of this phenomenon. Accompan¬ 
ied by the court and a large number of his princi¬ 
pal officers, the king proceeded to Hua-wan in the 
beginning of August, and established his residence 
at a place on the sea-shore, a few miles to the 
south of it, and immediately in the direct line of 
the sun’s path. He also permitted the French go¬ 
vernment to send thither a body of scientific ob¬ 
servers who had been dispatched from Paris with 
the view of witnessing the eclipse as nearly as pos¬ 
sible in the spot where it would be of the longest 
duration. 

“ The king, also -with great consideration, sug¬ 
gested to Mr. Alabaster, her Britannic majesty’s 
acting consul at Siam, that perhaps his excellency 
Sir Harry Ord, the governor of the Straits settle¬ 
ments, might feel disposed to take advantage of his 
majesty’s being within a somewhat shorter distance 
of Singapore to pay him a visit at Hua-wan, where 
he could have the opportunity of witnessing the 
eclipse under very favorable circumstances and of 
making the acquaintance of the king and his court. 
His majesty graciously added, that he desired to 
have the pleasure of meeting Sir Harry Ord, and 
that he would do all in liis power to render his visit 
agreeable. Circumstances at this time rendering it 


136 


SIAM. 


desirable for the governor to communicate person¬ 
ally with the rajahs of Pahang and Tringanu, on 
the eastern coast of the Peninsula, and his excel¬ 
lency, finding that by slightly extending his jour¬ 
ney he would be able to see the eclipse and make 
the acquaintance of the king and his court, he at 
once requested the consul to inform his majesty 
that he would have the honor of accepting the in¬ 
vitation so graciously made to him. 

“ But little time was afforded to make prepara¬ 
tions for the scientific observation of the phenome¬ 
na attending the eclipse, but with the assistance of 
Major McNair, the colonial engineer, such instru¬ 
ments as were attainable were procured, and it was 
resolved that no opportunity of turning them to ac¬ 
count should be neglected. 

“ On the night of the 12th August, his excellen¬ 
cy left Singapore in the colonial steamer Pei-Ho. 
Lady Ord also accompanied his excellency. An 
extremely good passage was made considering the 
season of the year ; the steamer anchored about 
45 miles below Hua-wan on the night of the 15th 
instant, and reached the anchorage on the follow¬ 
ing morning, where were found H. I. M.’s ships 
Sarthe and Frelon, H. S. M.’s ships Impregnable , Si¬ 
am Supporter , and Choio Phya, the royal yacht, 
and several gunboats and other vessels. H. M.’s 
ships Satellite , Captain Edye, and Grasshopper , 
Lieutenant Philpotts, arrived the following morn¬ 
ing, Captain Edye who was on his way to Hong¬ 
kong, having at the governor’s request deviated 
from his course that a British ship-of-war might 


THE GREAT ECLIPSE 


137 


be present on the occasion to display the flag and 
return salutes. 

“ The site selected for occupation was a portion of 
the sea-beach, which prior to the arrival of the Si¬ 
amese had been covered with jungle. This had been 
cleared and numerous houses erected for the ac¬ 
commodation of the various officers of the court and 
the European guests. The king occupied a tempo¬ 
rary palace of wood containing three stories, it be¬ 
ing contrary to Siamese customs for an inferior to 
live over, or in the king’s case on a level with his 
superior. The other houses were of one story, but 
the apartments were all raised three feet above the 
level of the ground. They were built almost ex¬ 
clusively of split bamboos and covered with the or¬ 
dinary thatch of the country, ‘ attap 5 or dried palm 
leaves. Each was surrounded by a neat fence of 
branches of trees impervious to observation, and 
the compound or court-yard contained numerous 
apartments for servants and followers. 

“ The governor and suite landed on the morning 
of the 17th, under a salute fired by a field battery 
which the king had brought from Bangkok, and 
being received by Mr. Alabaster, her Britannic 
majesty’s acting consul at Bangkok, the members 
of the consulate, and some Siamese officials, were 
conducted to the residence of his excellency Chow 
Phya Sri Sury Wongse the kalahome, or prime 
minister as he is generally termed. According to 
the Siamese etiquette it is usual for strangers to 
call first on the minister for foreign affairs, and af¬ 
terwards on the prime minister, by whom, if of suf- 


138 


SIAM. 


ficient rank, they are introduced to the king, but as 
the foreign minister .resided at some distance from 
the kalahome, the latter with much consideration 
arranged that his excellency’s reception by both of 
them should take place at the same time in his 
house. 

“ The kalahome is a gentleman of about sixty 
years of age, somewhat short in stature, with a 
keen eye and dignified presence ; it would be diffi¬ 
cult to give a better description of his character 
than that which Sir J. Bowring furnishes in the 
history of his mission to Siam in 1855. * The per¬ 
sonal character of the prime minister is to me an 
object of much admiration. He is the most distin¬ 
guished man of the greatest family in the empire : 
he was the main instrument which placed the pres¬ 
ent king upon the throne‘against the claims of the 
late king’s son, and was made prime minister. He 
has again and again told me that if my policy is to 
save the people from oppression and the country 
from monopoly, he shall labor with me, and if I 
succeed my name will be blest to all ages. He un¬ 
veils abuses to me without disguise, and often with 
vehement eloquence. If he prove true to his pro¬ 
fession, he is one of the noblest and most enlight¬ 
ened patriots the Oriental world has ever seen.’ 

“ The kalahome has fully established, during the 
thirteen years which have elapsed since the forego- 
ing was written, his claims to be considered a noble 
and enlightened patriot. Possessing the fullest 
power, for the king is understood to do nothing 
without his concurrence, he rules with moderation 


THE GREAT ECLIPSE. 


139 


and prudence, keeping himself well informed of all 
that passes in other countries. He is apparently 
much attached to the English, speaking the lan¬ 
guage with considerable facility. He is simple in 
his manner, and straightforward in the expression 
of his opinions, and exhibits very great energy in 
the transaction of public business. 

“ The governor and suite were received by the ka- 
lahome and foreign minister at the entrance of the 
court-yard, and were conducted to the house where 
seats were provided for the party. Tea and refresh¬ 
ments were served, and the minister and the gover¬ 
nor had a long conversation whilst arrangements 
were being made for his reception by the king. The 
consul, who speaks Siamese fluently, acted as inter¬ 
preter, but in many cases, the kalahome replied to 
Sir Harry Ord’s observations without Mr. Alabas¬ 
ter’s aid. The foreign minister took less part in the 
conversation. A discussion arising respecting fire¬ 
arms, the kalahome produced specimens of the 
Sneider, Mont-Storm, and other modern breech¬ 
loading weapons, and showed himself fully conver¬ 
sant with their mechanism. 

“ It was here that, for the first time, we noticed 
the rigid observance of the Siamese custom that an 
inferior may not stand in the presence of a superior. 
All the Siamese were seated or.lying on the ground, 
and servants when presenting refreshments carried 
the tray in their hands whilst they shuffled along 
the ground on their knees. It was curious to see 
the instantaneous change in the demeanor of Siam¬ 
ese who entered the court from without, ignorant 


140 


SIAM. 


of wliat was passing inside. Lounging in with 
easy carelessness, on beholding the kalahome they 
dropped instantly into a kneeling posture, joining 
their hands in front of the face and bowing the fore¬ 
head to the ground, they remained kneeling or seat¬ 
ed according to their rank. On being spoken to, 
their reply was accompanied with the same rever¬ 
ence and prostration, and on leaving the presence, 
although they generally rose to their feet, the legs 
*vere never straightened and the body was always 
kept bowed in a stooping posture. 

“ After some delay, word was brought that the 
king was waiting to receive the governor, and we 
proceeded to the temporary palace. At the entrance 
to the courtyard a guard of honor was drawn up 
which presented arms, and on entering the court .we 
were received by some of the principal officers, who, 
with the kalahome and foreign minister and their 
suites, preceded us to the hall of audience. This 
was a chamber, perhaps eighty feet long and thirty 
feet broad, forming the eastern end of the palace : 
there was a door at each end, as well as in the cen¬ 
tre of the longer side through which we were intro¬ 
duced. On entering, we found the whole surface of 
the floor covered with Siamese prostrate on the 
ground with their hands directed towards the king, 
who was seated on *a chair placed on a platform, 
raised about three feet above the floor, and immedi¬ 
ately in front of the door leading to the interior 
of the palace. The platform and its railing, and 
the pillars and walls of the apartment were hung 
with crimson cloth, and at his majesty’s right hand 



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THE GREAT ECLIPSE. 


141 


was a small table covered with gold boxes and ves¬ 
sels for containing betel, tobacco, water, etc. A 
narrow space between the door and the king’s 
throne was kept free, and on either side of this and 
about midway were prostrated the two chief minis¬ 
ters. In conformity with the customs of the court, 
our place was in a line between these officials, no 
one being permitted to make a nearer approach to 
the king than his own highest officers; we according¬ 
ly halted on this spot, but his majesty at once beck¬ 
oned to Sir Harry Ord to approach, and having 
shaken hands with him, had the whole of his suite 
introduced to him. An officer called the king’s 
mouth-piece proceeded to proclaim in a loud voice 
the nature and object of the governor’s visit, but af¬ 
ter a short time the king remarked that there had 
been enough of this, and speaking in English, made 
an address in which he expressed the pleasure it 
gave him to receive the governor, and spoke of the 
cordial relations existing between his own country 
and Great Britain, and his wish that they might 
continue. 

“ At the conclusion of his speech, the king de¬ 
scended from the throne and took his seat on an¬ 
other, which was raised outside the building imme¬ 
diately in front of the door of entrance, when some 
photographs of the scene were taken by the photo¬ 
grapher we had brought with us. On taking our 
leave with the same ceremonies which had accom¬ 
panied our introduction, his majesty expressed his 
wish to receive his excellency at a private audience 
the same evening. 


142 


SIAM. 


“We then proceeded to the house prepared for 
us, where we found Lady Ord and Mr. Plow, who 
had landed shortly after us. The building, whose 
construction has been described, was about one hun¬ 
dred and forty feet long and fifty feet wide, and con¬ 
sisted of two separate buildings. The larger had, 
on the level of the ground, a saloon capable of din¬ 
ing forty or fifty people, and on either side, raised 
about three feet, a range of small rooms, twelve in 
all, for the occupation of the members of the gover¬ 
nor’s suite. At the further end was a small building 
containing two bed-rooms and dressing-rooms, the 
veranda forming a convenient sitting-room in which 
visitors were received. This part of the house was 
boarded and floored with wood, the other being 
made entirely of split bamboos. 

“ On arriving, the governor was waited upon by 
PTa-P’asi-Sombat-Boriboon, the Siamese official to 
whom was intrusted the duty of catering for the 
king’s guests, and his excellency was informed that 
a table for as many persons as he might think pro¬ 
per to invite would be provided at such hours as he 
might appoint, and a hope was expressed that no¬ 
thing would be found wanting which could minister 
to the comfort of his excellency and suite. A 
French clief was then introduced, who, with an 
Italian and numerous native assistants, were in¬ 
structed to attend to all the requirements of the 
party, and most liberally and luxuriously were they 
supplied. Singapore and Bangkok had been ran¬ 
sacked to procure all the delicacies attainable in 
this climate, and excellent cooking with various 


THE GREAT ECLIPSE. 


143 


wines and plenty of ice, left nothing to be desired 
in this respect. Captain Edye and several officers 
of the navy, Mr. and Mrs. Alabaster, Mrs. Camp¬ 
bell, and the members of the consulate, formed 
an agreeable addition to our party, which certainly 
never anticipated finding such luxurious accommo¬ 
dation in a Siamese jungle. 

“ The* day was passed in making preparation for 
the observation of the eclipse on the morrow, and 
his excellency received visits from the kalahome 
and principal officers of state. About 9 P. M. the 
whole party, including the ladies, proceeded to the 
palace, at the entrance of which they were received by 
the king and conducted by him to the private apart¬ 
ments where they were introduced to the ladies of the 
court, and the young princesses. There is not at 
present any queen of Siam, her late majesty having 
died in 1852, and although the king has numerous 
wives, none of them has been raised to the rank of 
queen. There are between sixty and seventy chil¬ 
dren, of whom the four eldest are princesses Ying 
Yawlacks, Dacksinja, and Somawati, each of whom 
is about sixteen years of age, and prince Cliowfa 
Chulalongkorn, who is about fifteen. Prince Cliowfa 
Chulalongkorn is a very intelligent youth, tall and 
forward for his years ; the elder princesses are very 
nice looking, and were it not for the stained teeth 
which Siamese custom inexorably demands, would 
be decidedly handsome young women. They are 
possessed of very pleasing, engaging manners, and 
speak English, as indeed do most of the royal chil¬ 
dren, the king having provided them with an Eng- 


144 


SIAM. 


lish governess. The governor and the ladies of the 
party having been introduced to the ladies of the 
household, we seated ourselves round a centre table 
when tea and coffee, cakes and sweetmeats were 
served, and after a stay of half an hour we descended 
from the apartment, (which being for the royal use, 
was situated at the top of the palace,) into the au¬ 
dience chamber, where a dance somewhat similar to 
an Indian nautch was performed by some elaborately 
attired young girls belonging to the court, and who 
are specially trained for the purpose. The music was 
Siamese, and consisted of flutes, drums, a sort of 
guitar, and an instrument composed of flat pieces 
of sonorous wood beaten with a hammer. It was 
not unmelodious. About IIP. M. his majesty per¬ 
mitted us to retire. 

“ The morning of the 18th August broke with 
dense masses of clouds coming up from the’S. W., 
and this continued without intermission until 9 
o’clock, when a slight fall of rain took place. The 
sun was up to this time quite overshadowed, and the 
w r eather was generally so unsettled as to hold out 
but little prospect of any probable change before 
noon. An hour later, however, the wind increased 
in force from the S. W., and at lOh. 5m. was noticed 
a slight break in the clouds to the westward, from 
which quarter the sky shortly afterwards began to 
be clear, and at lOh. 35m. the sun, which had been 
hitherto entirely obscured, shone forth, but eclipsed 
on the western limb by nearly one fourth of its di¬ 
ameter ; we were therefore unable to note the ac¬ 
tual time of first contact, which was expected to take 


THE GREAT ECLIPSE 


145 


place at lOh. 4m. The weather from this time be¬ 
came more settled, the lower or nimbus cloud en¬ 
tirely disappeared, and the sky was left clear and 
bright in the zenith, while, but few clouds were visi¬ 
ble above 30° from the horizon, and these cirro-cu¬ 
mulus, thus affording a satisfactory indication that 
for some time at least a clear sky might be looked 
for.” 

The observations of the eclipse by the various 
scientific parties engaged, the Siamese, French and 
English, were remarkably successful, but the details, 
as given in the present narrative, need not be 
quoted. The writer resumes : 

“ Late in the afternoon we were surprised by a 
sudden announcement that the king was coming to 
visit the governor. The kalahome, who seemed to 
have had as short notice of his majesty’s intention 
as Sir Harry Ord, and to be as much astonished as 
we were at this extraordinary departure from Siam¬ 
ese etiquette, came in and staid with the governor 
to receive the king. There was no time for any pre¬ 
paration, and we were obliged to remain in our or¬ 
dinary costume. His majesty arrived at 5 P. M. in 
a chair, or rather short couch, borne by eight men, 
on which he sat with his legs crossed in front, and 
with two of the little princes, one on either side. A 
band of music and a guard of honor with two moun¬ 
tain guns preceded him. At his side walked several 
of the princes, followed by some of the princesses 
in a carriage, accompanied by a crowd of officials 
and servants. Chairs had been placed at the en¬ 
trance of the house, but his majesty, passing them 


146 


SIAM. 


by, walked through the building to the governor’s 
apartments at the upper end, where he seated him¬ 
self between Sir Harry and Lady Ord, the mem¬ 
bers of the court remaining prostrated on the 
ground below, with the exception of the kalahome, 
who reclined in a respectful but subservient atti¬ 
tude on the lower of the steps leading to the raised 
floor of the house. 

“ The king, who was in a very good humor, his 
calculations of the time of the eclipse having proved 
extremely correct, (report said more so than those of 
the European observers,) talked a good deal, chiefly 
in English, expressing a hope that his excellency 
was pleased with his visit and found everything that 
he required. The young princesses amused them¬ 
selves with some photograph books, and after a stay 
of half an hour, his majesty took his departure, re¬ 
questing that we would visit him the same evening 
to witness another theatrical performance. 

“ About 10 o’clock, his excellency and the gentle¬ 
men of the party proceeded to the palace, where 
they found the king engaged in witnessing a sort of 
theatrical entertainment by a number of young girls 
dressed in very gorgeous costumes. There were 
also present several of the officers of the French 
ships of war, and the members of the French expe¬ 
dition, as well as some of the European officers in 
his majesty’s service, and others. The performance, 
in which the king appeared to be much interested, 
consisted of a sort of ballet, the motions of which 
were however very slow and not very graceful, exe¬ 
cuted to the sound of the native band before alluded 


THE GREAT ECLIPSE. 


147 


to. Besides this band the king has at least one 
very fair band on the European model, and the ka- 
lahome is the possessor of one which he very kindly 
sent to play during dinner on the first day of our 
arrival, and which performed a selection of dance 
and operatic music in a highly creditable manner. 
After witnessing the dancing for some, time, the king 
called up the different performers and explained 
their characters, stating in most instances who they 
were. It was curious to find that many of them 
were daughters of governors of provinces, and no¬ 
blemen in the king’s service, but it appears that 
daughters are not looked upon as of very great 
value, and that it is considered a fortunate circum¬ 
stance if they can be got rid of by quartering them 
on the royal household, where their talents would 
seem to be turned to account in any profitable or 
useful manner. It has been remarked that the king 
appeared to take a great interest in these perform¬ 
ances, in the intricate evolutions of which he seemed 
quite at home, and we were given to understand 
that he sometimes continues amusing himself with 
them until a very late hour in the night. On the 
present occasion, his majesty acknowledged that he 
was tired with his labors during the day in observ¬ 
ing the eclipse, and permitted us to take our leave 
early. 

“ The next morning, in obedience to a royal sum¬ 
mons, we again proceeded to the palace, where ef¬ 
forts were made to obtain some more photographs of 
the king and the members of the governor’s party, 
as mementoes of our visit, but through some delect 


148 


SIAM. 


in the appliances, our photographer’s efforts were 
not as successful on this occasion as on others. 

“ The king then expressed his wish that Sir Harry 
and Lady Ord should take leave of the royal ladies, 
and accompanied by Captain Edye and Major 
McNair, they were introduced by the king into the 
interior of the palace, where they found the chief 
members of the household, very handsomely attired 
in dresses of cloth of gold, and decked with numer¬ 
ous ornaments. Eefreshments were served by the 
elder princesses, and tile king held a long communi¬ 
cation in English with the governor, in which he re¬ 
peated his expression of the pleasure it had been to 
him to make the acquaintance of his excellency and 
Lady Ord, and his hope that the most friendly re¬ 
lations would always exist between the two govern¬ 
ments. Whilst the governor was engaged with the 
king, the members of his party were entertained in 
the audience chamber by the princes and princesses, 
who distributed their cards and photographs 
amongst them, and expressed the hope that the king 
would visit Singapore, and give them the oppor¬ 
tunity of enjoying such unwonted relaxation from 
the strictness of their every day life. 

“ On taking our departure, his majesty shook 
hands with the whole party, and after endeavoring 
to persuade a youthful midshipman to take service 
with him as private secretary, he took leave of his 
excellency with very great warmth of manner, ex¬ 
pressing his hope that he might be able some day 
to visit him at Bangkok, and inquiring whether if he 
went to Singapore his excellency would be pleased 


THE GREAT ECLIPSE. 


149 


to receive him; to which Sir Harry Ord replied, 
that nothing would give him more gratification than 
to be honored by a visit from his majesty. 

“ As soon as we left the palace, the king embarked 
in the royal yacht, and proceeded to Bangkok. Im¬ 
mediately after the king had left the shore, all the 
Siamese officials, the consular party, and other Eu¬ 
ropeans embarked in the different steamers appro¬ 
priated to their use, and followed his majesty to 
Bangkok. The Satellite and Grasshopper left for 
Hongkong, and the Frelon for Saigon, the Sarthe 
was engaged in embarking the astronomers and 
their instruments, the Pei-Ho, with his excellency 
and suite, quitted the harbor a little before dark, 
and the shore, which a few hours previously was 
crowded with people, rapidly relapsed into its usual 
solitude. 

“ It would be improper to close this portion of the 
narrative without remarking how completely the 
king and his nobles broke through the trammels of 
Siamese etiquette for the purpose of doing honor 
to their guests. It was observed by those who had 
had experience of the people and their customs, that 
on no previous occasion had the court been so com¬ 
pletely revolutionized; the royal apartments were 
thrown open, and the ladies of the household brought 
prominently forward, whilst the younger members 
of the royal family were allowed to mix with their 
English visitors in the most friendly and sociable 
manner. The accounts of former missions and visits 
to Siam record complaints of the obstructions 
offered to intercourse with the court from the exclu- 


150 


SIAM. 


siveness of its customs and ceremonies. Mr. Craw¬ 
ford, Kajali Brooke, and Sir J. Bowring have attest¬ 
ed to this fact, and the latter relates that, to such an 
extent did this prevail, that objections were made to 
the members of his suite wearing their swords in 
the presence of the king. No such feelings exhibit¬ 
ed themselves on this occasion, and in place of a 
slavish observance of court etiquette in its minutest 
details, the king and his nobles mixed freely with 
their guests as with equals, and seemed even anx¬ 
ious to conform to the customs of their visitors. 

“ The Siamese appear to be a gentle and amiable 
. people, shrewd and lively, and fonder of amusement 
than work ; they are neither given to disputing, nor 
favorable to change ; and it is said of them that 
dishonesty is repugnant to their habits. They are 
short in stature, the women especially, who appear 
to be rarely more than five feet high ; the dress of 
the men is a loose jacket, with sleeves coming down 
to the hips and buttoning up to the throat, with a 
sarong or native wove cloth about three yards long 
and one yard wide, which is passed round the waist, 
and brought between the legs, so as to have much 
the effect of a pair of knee breeches or knickerbock¬ 
ers ; the legs and feet are bare, though men of rank 
usually wear shoes or slippers out of doors. The 
women are clothed very like the men, though some¬ 
times the jacket is dispensed with in favor of a 
scarf, worn across the shoulder and affording very 
partial covering to the body. Both sexes shave the 
head, leaving a small tuft at the top, about the 
length and size of an ordinary clothes brush, the 


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THE GREAT ECUIPSE. 


151 


effect of which, is very singular. It is said that 
there is a difference between the way the hair is 
worn by men and by women, but it was not percep¬ 
tible to us, except, perhaps, that the men are more 
particular in shaving. Young children wear their 
hair until they are ten or eleven years old, when it 
is shaved off with great ceremony, and in the case 
of princes, a great festival is held. His majesty 
showed Sir Harry Ord one of the princes, whose 
hair, he said, would be shaved next year, and in¬ 
vited his excellency to come to Bangkok and see the 
ceremony, which, he assured him, would be very 
grand.” 

It is probable that, had the king’s life been pro¬ 
longed, he would have ventured upon the visit to 
Singapore, which he seems to have contemplated, 
and which his son and successor has during the past 
year accomplished. 


CHAPTER X. 


AYUTHIA. 


HE former capital of Siam, which in its day was 



l a city of great magnificence and fame, has been 
for many years supplanted by Bangkok ; and proba¬ 
bly a sight of the latter city as it now is, gives to the 
traveller the best impression of what the former used 
to be. So completely does the interest of the king¬ 
dom centre at Bangkok that few travellers go beyond 
the limits of the walls of that city except in ascend¬ 
ing or descending the river which leads to it from 
the sea. For a description of Ayuthia in its glory 
we are obliged to turn back to the old German trav¬ 
eller who visited Siam during the first half of the 
seventeenth century. Sir John Bowring has con¬ 
nected thij3 ancient narrative with that of a recent 
observer who has visited the ruins of the once fa¬ 
mous city. We quote from Bowring’s narrative : 

“ According to the reports of travellers, there are 
numerous towns and villages to the north of Bang¬ 
kok, along the sides of the Meinam ; the adjacent 
plains being principally dedicated to the cultivation 
of rice. In some of the inhabited localities, the dif¬ 
ferent races, Siamese, Gochin-Chinese, Peguans, 


AYUTHIA. 


153 


Laos and Chinese are blended ; in others a separate 
race is located. Between the modern and the 
ancient capitals, Bangkok and Ayuthia, is a village 
called the ‘ Sunken Ship,’ the houses being erected 
round a mast which towers above the surface at low 
water. 

“ The ancient city of Ayuthia, whose pagodas and 
palaces were the object of so much laudation from 
ancient travellers, and which was called the Oriental 
Venice, from the abundance of its canals and the beau¬ 
ty of its public buildings, is now almost wholly in 
ruins, its towers and temples whelmed in the dust 
and covered with rank vegetation. The native name 
of Ayuthia was Sijan Thijan, meaning ‘ Terrestrial 
Paradise.’ The Siamese are in the habit of giving 
very ostentatious names to their cities, which, as La 
Loubere says : ‘ do signify great things.’ Pallegoix 
speaks of the ambitious titles given to Siamese 
towns, among which he mentions ‘ the City of An¬ 
gels,’ ‘ the City of Archangels,’ and the ‘ Celestial 
Spectacle.’ 

“ The general outlines of the old city so closely 
resemble those of Bangkok, that the map of the one 
might easily be mistaken for the representation of 
the other. 

“ It may not be out of place here to introduce the 
description of Ayuthia from the pen of Mandelsloe 
—one of those painstaking travellers whose conti- 
butions to geographical science have been collected 
in the ponderous folios of Dr. Harris (vol. i., p. 
781).” Mandelsloe reports that 

“ The city of Judda is built upon an island in the 


154 


SIAM. 


river Meinam. It is the ordinary residence of the 
king of Siam, having several very fair streets, with 
spacious channels regularly cut. The suburbs are 
on both sides of the river, which, as well as the city 
itself, are adorned with many temples and palaces ; 
of the first of which there are above three hundred 
within the city, distinguished by theii gilt steeples, 
or rather pyramids, and afford a glorious prospect 
at a distance. The houses are, as all over the In¬ 
dies, but indifferently built, and covered with tiles. 
The royal palace is equal to a large city. Ferdi- 
nando Mendez Pinto makes the number of inhabi¬ 
tants of this city amount, improbably, to four hun¬ 
dred thousand families. It is looked upon as im¬ 
pregnable, by reason of the overflowing of the 
river at six months’ end. The king of Siam, who 
takes amongst his other titles that of Paecan Salsu, 
i. e .—Sacred Member of God,—has this to boast of, 
that, next to the Mougul, he can deduce his descent 
from more kings than any other in the Indies. He 
is absolute, his privy councillors, called mandarins, 
being chosen and deposed barely at his pleasure. 
When he appears in public, it is done with so much 
pomp and magnificence as is scarce to be imagined, 
which draws such a veneration to his person from 
the common people, that, even in the streets, as he 
passes by, they give him godlike titles and worship. 
He marries no more than one wife at a time, but 
has an infinite number of concubines. He feeds 
very high ; but his drink is water only, the use of 
strong liquors being severely prohibited, by their 
ecclesiastical law, to persons of quality in Siam. 


A YUTHIA. 


155 


As tlie thirds of all the estates of the kingdom fall 
to his exchequer, so his riches must be very great; 
but what makes them almost immense is, that he is 
the chief merchant in the kingdom, having his fac¬ 
tors in all places of trade, to sell rice, copper, lead, 
saltpetre, etc. to foreigners. Mendez Pinto makes 
his yearly revenue rise to twelve millions of ducats, 
the greatest part of which being laid up in his 
treasury, must needs swell to an infinity in process 
of time.” Sir John Bowring adds : 

“ Ayuthia was formerly one of the most distin¬ 
guished cities of the East. The spires of the pa¬ 
godas and pyramids, blackened by time, still tower 
above the magnificent trees which grow amidst the 
masses of ruins they overshadow. The ancient city 
was several leagues in circumference. Amidst the 
broken walls of palaces and temples are colossal 
statues from fifty to sixty feet high. These are 
mostly of brick, covered with brass of the thickness 
of two fingers. The annals of Siam report that, in 
founding one of these statues, 20,000 pounds of 
copper, 2,000 pounds of silver, and 400 pounds of 
gold were employed. The walls of the city are 
overturned—thick and impenetrable masses of 
weeds, brushwood, and tall trees, tenanted by bats 
and vultures, cover the vast desolation. In the 
midst of the heaps of rubbish treasures are often 
discovered. The new city of Ayuthia surrounds 
the ancient site. It has two lines of floating ba¬ 
zaars. Its population is about 40,000. At a 
league’s distance from the city, on the northern 
side, is a majestic edifice called the ‘ Golden Moun- 


15G 


SIAM. 


tail),’ built A. D. 1387. It is a pyramid four hun¬ 
dred feet high, each side having a staircase by 
which large galleries surrounding the building are 
mounted. From the third stage there is a splen¬ 
did prospect; and there are four corridors by 
which the dome is entered, in whose centre is a 
gilded image of Buddha, rendered fetid by the de¬ 
positions of millions of bats, which day and night 
are flitting in dire confusion around the altar. The 
dome is eleyated one hundred and fifty feet above 
the galleries, and terminates in a gilded spire. 

“ I have received the following account of the 
present condition of Ayuthia, the old capital of 
Siam, from a gentleman who visited it in Decem¬ 
ber, 1855: 

“ £ Ayuthia is at this time the second city of the 
kingdom. Situated, as the greater part is, on a 
creek or canal, connecting the main river with a 
large branch which serves as the high road to 
Pakpriau, Korat, and southern Laos, travellers are 
apt entirely to overlook it when visiting the ruins 
of the various wats or temples on the island where 
stood the ancient city. 

“ ‘ The present number of inhabitants cannot be 
less than between twenty and thirty thousand, 
among which are a large number of Chinese, a 
few Birmese, and some natives of Laos. They are 
principally employed in shopkeeping, agriculture, 
or fishing, for there are no manufactories of im¬ 
portance. Floating houses are most commonly 
employed as dwellings, the reason for which is that 


AYUTHIA. 


157 


the Siamese very justly consider them more heal¬ 
thy than houses on land. 

“ ‘ The soil is wonderfully fertile. The principal 
product is rice, which, although of excellent quality, 
is not so well adapted for the market as that 
grown nearer the sea, on account of its being much 
lighter and smaller. A large quantity of oil, also 
an astringent liquor called toddy, and sugar, is 
manufactured from the palm, (Elaeis,) extensive 
groves of which are to be found in the vicinity of 
the city. I was shown some European turnips 
which had sprung up, and attained a very large 
size. Indigenous fruits and vegetables also flourish 
in great plenty. The character of the vegetation is, 
however, different from that around Bangkok. The 
cocoa and areca palms become rare, and give place 
to the bamboo. 

“ 1 The city is .naturally considered one of the 
most important in the country, but is protected by 
no fortifications. It has a governor and deputy- 
governor, and some inferior officers appointed 
over it. 

“ 4 The king pays commonly one visit during the 
year to the capital of his ancestors, which lasts a 
week or two. He has a palace erected on the river 
side, on the site of the old palace, which, however, 
has little of the appearance of a royal residence, the 
greater part of the building being constructed of 
teak and bamboo. 

“ £ Most of the principal merchants of Bangkok 
have houses in the town, which are used either as 


158 


SIAM. 


shops or as residences, wherein to pass a week oi 
two of recreation in the hot season. 

“ * The only visible remains of the old city are a 
large number of wats, in different stages of decay. 
They extend over an area of several miles of coun¬ 
try, and lie hidden in the trees and jungle, which 
have sprung up around them. As the beauty of a 
Siamese temple consists not in its architecture, but 
in the quantity of arabesque work with which the 
brick and stucco walls are covered, it soon yields to 
the power of time and weather, and becomes, if 
neglected, an unsightly heap of bricks and wood¬ 
work, overgrown with parasitical plants. It is thus 
at Ayuthia. A vast pile of bricks and earth, with 
here and there a spire still rearing itself to the 
skies, marks the spot where once stood a shrine be¬ 
fore which thousands were wont to prostrate them¬ 
selves in superstitious adoration. There stand also 
the formerly revered images of Guadama, once re¬ 
splendent with gold and jewels, but now broken, 
mutilated, and without a shadow of their previous 
splendor. There is one sacred spire of immense 
height and size, which is still kept in some kind of 
repair, and which is sometimes visited by the king. 
It is situated about four miles from the town, in the 
centre of a plain of paddy-fields. Boats and ele¬ 
phants are the only means of reaching it, as there is 
no road whatever, except such as the creeks and 
swampy paddy-fields afford. It bears much cele¬ 
brity among the Siamese, on account of its height, 
but can boast of nothing attractive to foreigners 
but the fine view which is obtained from the sum- 


A YU Till A. 


159 


mit. This spire, like all others, is but a succession 
of steps from the bottom to the top ; a few ill-made 
images affording the only relief from the monotony 
of the brickwork. It bears, too, none of those or¬ 
naments, constructed of broken crockery, with which 
the spires and temples of Bangkok are so plentifully 
bedecked. 

“ ‘ This is all that repays the traveller for his visit, 
—a poor remuneration though, were it the curiosity 
of an antiquarian that led him to the place ; for the 
ruins have not yet attained a sufficient age to com¬ 
pensate for their uninteresting appearance. 

“ * As we were furnished with a letter from the 
Phya Kalahom to the governor, instructing him to 
furnish us with everything requisite for our conve¬ 
nience, we waited on that official, but were unfortu¬ 
nate enough to find that he had gone to Bangkok. 
The letter was thus rendered useless; for no one 
dared open it in his absence. Happily, however, we 
were referred to a nobleman who had been sent 
from Bangkok to superintend the catching of ele¬ 
phants, and he, without demur, gave us every assist¬ 
ance in his power. 

“ ‘ After visiting the ruins, therefore, we inspected 
the kraal or stockade, in which the elephants are 
captured. This was a large quadrangular piece of 
ground, enclosed by a wall about six feet in thick¬ 
ness, having an entrance on one side, through which 
the elephants are made to enter the enclosure. In¬ 
side the wall is a fence of strong teak stakes driven 
into the ground a few inches apart. In the centre 
is a small house erected on poles, and strongly sur- 


160 


SIAM. 


rounded with stakes, wherein some men are sta¬ 
tioned for the purpose of securing the animals. 
These abound in the neighborhood of the city, but 
cannot exactly be called wild, as the majority of 
them have, at some time or other, been subjected to 
servitude. They are all the property of the king, 
and it is criminal to hurt or kill one of them. Once 
a year, a large number is collected together in the 
enclosure, and as many as are wanted of those pos¬ 
sessing the points which the Siamese consider beau¬ 
tiful are captured. The fine points in an elephant 
are : a color approaching to white or red, black 
nails on the toes, (the common color of these nails is 
b’ack and white,) and intact tails (for, owing to their 
pugnacious disposition, it is rarely that an elephant 
is caught which has not had its tail bitten off). On 
this occasion, the kings and a large concourse of 
nobles assemble together to witness the proceedings ; 
they occupy a large platform on one side of the en¬ 
closure. The wild elephants are then driven in by 
the aid of tame males of a very large size and great 
strength, and the selection takes place. If an ani¬ 
mal which is wanted escapes from the kraal, chase 
is immediately made after it by a tame elephant, the 
driver of which throws a lasso to catch the feet of 
the fugitive. Having effected this, the animal on 
which he rides leans itself with all its power the 
opposite way, and thus brings the other violently to 
the ground. It is then strongly bound, and con¬ 
ducted to the stables. 

“ ‘ Naturally enough, accidents are of common 
occurrence, men being frequently killed by the 


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A YUTHIA. 


161 


infuriated animals, wliich are sometimes confined 
two or three days in the enclosure without food. 

“ * When elephants are to be sent to Bangkok, 
a floating house has to be constructed for the pur¬ 
pose. 

“ * As elephants were placed at our disposal, we 
enjoyed the opportunity of judging of their capa¬ 
bilities, in a long ride through places inaccessible 
to a lesser quadruped. Their step is slow and cau¬ 
tious, and the rider is subjected to a measured roll 
from side to side, which at first is somewhat dis¬ 
agreeable. In traversing marshes and soft ground, 
they feel their way with their trunks. They are ex¬ 
cessively timid; horses are a great terror to them, 
and, unless they are well trained, the report of a 
fowling-piece scares them terribly.’ 

“ Above Ayuthia the navigation of the Meinam is 
often interrupted by sand-banks, but the borders 
are still occupied by numerous and populous vil¬ 
lages ; their number diminishes until the marks of 
human presence gradually disappear—the river is 
crowded with crocodiles, the trees are filled with 
monkeys, and the noise of the elephants is heard in 
the impervious woods. After many days’ passage 
up the river, one of the oldest capitals of Siam, 
built fifteen hundred years ago, is approached. Its 
present name is Pliit Salok, and it contains about 
five thousand inhabitants, whose principal occupa¬ 
tion is cutting teak-wood, to be floated down the 
stream to Bangkok. 

“ The account which Bishop Pallegoix gives of 
the interior of the country above Ayuthia is not 


1G2 


SIAM. 


very flattering. He visited it in the rainy season, 
and says it appeared little better than a desert—a 
few huts by the side of the stream—neither towns, 
nor soldiers, nor custom-houses. Rice was found 
cheap and abundant, everything else wanting. Some 
of the bishop’s adventures are characteristic. In 
one place, where he heard pleasant music, he found 
a mandarin surrounded by his dozen wives, who 
were playing a family concert. The mandarin took 
the opportunity to seek information about Christ¬ 
ianity, and listened patiently and pleased enough, 
until the missionary told him one wife must satisfy 
him if he embraced the Catholic faith, which 
closed the controversy, as the Siamese said that was 
an impossible condition. In some places, the many- 
colored pagodas towered above the trees, and they 
generally possessed a gilded Buddha twenty feet in 
height. The bishop observes that the influence of 
the Buddhist priests is everywhere paramount among 
the Siamese, but that they have little hold upon 
the Chinese, Malays, or Laos people. In one of 
the villages they offered a wife to one of the mis¬ 
sionaries ; but finding the present unacceptable, 
they replace4 the lady by two youths, who con¬ 
tinued in his service, and he speaks well of their 
fidelity.” 

“ Somewhere between Bangkok and Ayuthia,” 
(as a missionary records,) “ we stopped a little to 
examine a paper manufactory. The paper is made 
here from the bark of a tree or plant called kliri. 
It is reduced to a pulp by manual beating, soaked 
in water, and then run into a mould, which consists 


AYUTHIA. 


163 


of a rectangular box, about fourteen by twenty 
inches, with a piece of coarse cloth stretched over 
the bottom for a strainer ; and then, instead of 
pressing, it is exposed to dry in the sun before it is 
removed from the mould. When dried it is ready 
for use, but cannot be written upon with ink, as it 
spreads ; and the texture is coarse, resembling 
wrapping-paper. The Siamese use a kind of soft 
stone, or steatite pencil, for writing.” The paper 
has not the extraordinary strength and toughness 
of the Japanese paper, but is soft and pliant. It 
is used for writing-paper, not for books. “ The 
books of the Siamese,” says Bowring, “ open in 
one continuous sheet, folded fan-like ; the usual 
length of the page from eight to twelve inches, 
the breadth three or four ; the paper is blank, and 
the characters are written generally with gamboge, 
though sometimes with white paint. All hasty re¬ 
cords are made with chalk, which is easily removed 
when the record is not intended to be permanent. 
Indian, (i. c. China) ink, is also used for writing 
on light-colored paper. The leaves of a sort of 
palm-tree (koi) are employed as tablets, which are 
written on by a stile, but principally for the repro¬ 
duction of the sacred books. These are fastened 
loosely together by strings, so that they can be 
easily turned over. They are preserved under 
richly painted and gilded coverings, and are highly 
appreciated. Pallegoix says that there are a num¬ 
ber of ladies in the palace specially occupied in 
writing the books.” 

Stray leaves of these sacred writings may be 


164 


SIAM. 


picked up, sometimes, about the wats or temples. 
The characters formed by the stile used in writing 
remind one of the characters formed in our books 
for the blind, or of those produced on paper by the 
ordinary telegraphic instrument. 


CHAPTER XI. 


MOUHOT’S TRAVELS.—THE COUNTRY BEYOND AND 
ABOUT AYUTHIA. 

MOUHOT, whose explorations of the in- 



1VA. terior of Siam have been more extensive 
than those of any other writer, was prevented by his 
untimely death from giving to the world the complet¬ 
ed results of his industrious and intelligent investiga¬ 
tions. His narrative, prepared for the press by his 
brother, is most full in regard to the regions most 
remote and inaccessible, and will be more largely 
quoted from in regard to Cambodia and Laos than 
in regard to Siam. Mouhot was a Frenchman by 
birth, but by his marriage with an Englishwoman 
became allied to the family of Mungo Park, the 
famous African explorer. He was a faithful student 
of natural science, devoting himself especially to 
ornithology and conchology. While still a very 
young man he had travelled extensively in Russia. 
He was a good Greek scholar, and it was not 
difficult for him to acquire with facility both Rus¬ 
sian and Polish, during his stay in that vast north¬ 
ern empire, which he traversed from St. Peters- 


166 


SIAM. 


burg to Sebastopol, and from Warsaw to Mos¬ 
cow. 

He was a good draughtsman, and a practical 
photographer of very large and varied experience; 
but more than all, he was possessed by an adven¬ 
turous and enthusiastic spirit, which welcomed dan¬ 
ger when it came in the pursuit of scientific dis¬ 
covery. He was especially fitted for the life of 
an explorer by his physical constitution. He was 
active, and with bodily strength beyond the average ; 
“ a result,” says his biographer, “ of the gymnastic 
sports in which he had taken pleasure in his 
youth, and of his habitual sobriety. He had never 
had an attack of fever, nor any other illness ; and 
he resisted for four years the effects of a tropical 
climate, incredible fatigue, bad food, and nights 
passed in forests, without any apparent loss of health 
or strength, which is doubtless to be attributed to 
his never taking spirits, and wine only very spar- 

ingly.” 

M. Mouhot was a Protestant. But he was a man 
of such amiable and honest character, and of such 
broad sympathies, that he won for himself the cor¬ 
dial affection of both Protestant and Catholic mis¬ 
sionaries in the regions through which he travelled, 
and was under many obligations to both for hospi¬ 
table and friendly services rendered. He was evi¬ 
dently a man of devout and religious heart, and al¬ 
most the last words of his journal, written while he 
was dying in the jungles of Laos, breathe a spirit 
of Christian faith and reliance on the love of God. 
He was greatly lamented by the scientific world, as 


JST OUHOT’S TRAVELS. 


167 


well as by those who were bound to him by ties of 
kinship, or of personal acquaintance. 

Mouhot embarked at London, on the 27th of 
April, 1858, “ in a sailing ship of very modest preten¬ 
sions, in order to put in execution,” as he says, “ my 
long-cherished project of exploring the kingdoms of 
Siam, Cambodia, and Laos, and visiting the tribes 
who occupy the banks of the great river Mekon. 

“ I spare the reader the details of the voyage and 
of my life on board ship, and shall merely state that 
there were annoyances in plenty, both as regards the 
accommodation for the passengers, and the conduct 
of the captain, whose sobriety was more than doubt¬ 
ful. We arrived at Singapore on the 3rd Septem¬ 
ber. I made only a short stay there, my chief ob¬ 
ject being to gain information respecting the coun¬ 
try I was about to visit. On the 12th of the same 
month, after a very monotonous voyage, we arrived 
at the mouth of the river Meinam, on whose banks 
Bangkok is built. Our vessel, only drawing eight 
feet of water, passed the bar without much difficulty, 
and anchored at Paknam, in front of the governor’s 
house, whither the captain and myself proceeded 
without loss of time, in order to obtain the neces¬ 
sary permission to continue our route. 

“ This formality over, I hastened to visit the 
forts, which are of brick and battlemented, the 
markets, and some of the streets. Paknam is the 
Sebastopol or Cronstadt of the kings of Siam ; nev¬ 
ertheless, I fancied that a European squadron could 
easily master it, and that the commander who 


168 


SIAM. 


breakfasting there, might dine the same day at 
Bangkok. 

“ On a little island in the middle of the river rises 
a famous and rather remarkable pagoda, containing, 

I was told, the bodies of their last kings. The ef¬ 
fect of this pyramidal structure reflected in the deep 
and limpid water, with its background of tropical 
verdure, was most striking. As for the town, all 
that I saw of it was disgustingly dirty. 

“ The Meinam deserves its beautiful name—Mo¬ 
ther of Waters—for its depth permits the largest 
vessels to coast along its banks without danger : so 
closely, indeed, that the birds may be heard singing 
gaily in the overhanging branches, and the hum of 
numberless insects enlivens the deck by night and 
day. The whole effect is picturesque and beauti¬ 
ful. Here and there houses are dotted about on 
either bank, and numerous villages give variety to 
the distant landscape. 

“We met a great number of canoes managed with . 
incredible dexterity by men and women, and often 
even by children, who are here early familiarized 
with the water. I saw the governor’s children, al¬ 
most infants, throw themselves into the river, and 
swim and dive like waterfowl. It was a curious 
and interesting sight, particularly from the strong 
contrast between the little ones and the adults. 
Here, as in the whole plain of Siam, which I after¬ 
wards visited, I met most attractive children, 
tempting one to stop and caress them ; but as they 
grow older they rapidly lose all beauty, the habit of 


VIEW OF PAKNAM ON THE .VIETNAM. 



























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































MOUIIOT'S TRAVELS. 


169 


chewing the betel-nut producing an unsightly black¬ 
ening of the teeth and swelling of the lips. 

“ It is impossible to state the exact population of 
Bangkok, the census of all eastern countries being 
extremely imperfect. It is estimated, however, at 
from three to four hundred thousand inhabitants. 
Owing to its semi-aquatic site, we had reached the 
centre of the city while I believed myself still in 
the country ; I was only undeceived by the sight 
of various European buildings, and the steamers 
which plough this majestic river, whose margins 
are studded with floating houses and shops. 

“ Bangkok is the Venice of the east, and wheth¬ 
er bent on business or pleasure, you must go by 
water. In place of the noise of carriages and 
horses, nothing is heard but the dip of oars, the 
songs of sailors, or the cries of the Cipayes, (Si¬ 
amese rowers.) The river is the high street and 
the boulevard, while the canals are the cross 
streets, along which you glide, lying luxuriously at 
the bottom of your canoe. 

“ We cast anchor in front of the cathedral of 
the French mission and of the modest palace of 
Monseigneur Pallegoix, the worthy archbishop, 
who, for nearly thirty years, without any assist¬ 
ance but that of missionaries as devoted as him¬ 
self, has made the revered emblem of Christianity 
and the name of France respected in these distant 
regions. 

“ The sight of the cross in foreign lands speaks 
to the heart like meeting with an old friend ; one 
feels comforted and no longer alone. It is beauti- 


170 


SIAM. 


ful to see the devotion, self-denial, and courage of 
these poor and pious missionaries ; a blessing as 
they are, also, to travellers, it would be ungrateful 
not to render them the gratitude which is their just 
due. 

“ For some time past, particularly since the wars 
in China and Cochin-China, Siam has been much 
talked of in Europe ; and, relying on the faith of 
treaties of peace and commerce, several French 
and English houses of business have been estab¬ 
lished there. Unfortunately, there was much de¬ 
ception on the part of the native authorities, which 
has given rise to the general and well-founded com¬ 
plaints from the merchants. The fact is, that they 
have dangerous competitors in the mandarins and 
even in the princes, who monopolize the greater 
part of the trade in rice and sugar, their chief arti¬ 
cles of commerce, which they despatch in their 
junks and other vessels. Moreover, the people 
were not prepared for the change which had taken 
place in the laws, and had scarcely cultivated more 
than enough for home consumption; add to this 
that the population is far from numerous, and, the 
Siamese being an indolent race, most of the agri¬ 
culture falls into the hands of the Chinese, who 
flock to Singapore, Australia, and California. 

“ The country certainly merits the reputation 
which it enjoys for beauty, but it is especially in its 
mountain scenery that nature displays its gran¬ 
deur. 

“ During a ten years’ residence in Russia I wit¬ 
nessed the frightful effects of despotism and slave- 


MOUHOT’S TRAVELS 


171 


ry. At Siam, results not less sad and deplorable 
obtruded themselves on my notice ; every inferior 
crouches before a higher in rank ; he receives his 
orders kneeling, or with some other sign of abject 
submission and respect. The whole of society is in 
a state of prostration. 

“ I was making my preparations for departure 
on the 16th October, my purpose being to pene¬ 
trate into the north of the country and visit Cam¬ 
bodia and the savage tribes belonging to it, when I 
received an invitation from the king of Siam to be 
present at the great dinner which this monarch 
gives every year, on his birthday, to the European 
residents in Bangkok. I was presented by Mon¬ 
seigneur Pallegoix, and his majesty’s reception was 
kind and courteous. His costume consisted of a 
pair of large trousers, a short brown jacket of some 
thin material, and slippers ; on his head he wore a 
little copper helmet like those worn by the naval 
officers, and at his side a rich sabre. 

“ Most of the Europeans in Bangkok were pre¬ 
sent at the dinner, and enthusiastic toasts were 
drunk to the health of his majesty, who, instead of 
being seated, stood or walked round the table, 
chewing betel, and addressing some pleasant obser¬ 
vation to each of his guests in turn. The repast 
was served in a vast hall, from whence we could 
see a platoon of the royal guard, with flags and 
drums, drawn up in the courtyard. When I went 
to take leave of the king, he graciously presented 
me with a little bag of green silk, containing some 
of the gold and silver coin of the country, a cour- 


172 


SIAM. 


tesy which was most unexpected, an*d for which I 
expressed my gratitude. 

“ After my visits of ceremony to the two kings, 
I hastened to finish the preparations for my voy¬ 
age. I bought a light boat capable of holding all 
my chests, reserving a narrow space for myself, and 
another for the bipeds and quadrupeds forming my 
adopted family—viz., two rowers, one of whom also 
officiated as cook, a parroquet, an ape, and a dog. 
One of the boatmen was a Cambodian, and the 
other an Annamite, both Christians, and knowing a 
few words of Latin (which is much esteemed 
among the native Christians, thanks to the ritual 
of the Catholic mission,) and English, so that, as 
I had already picked up a little Siamese, I could 
make myself pretty well understood. 

“ On the 19th October I quitted Bangkok, and 
commenced my voyage up the Meinam. The cur¬ 
rent runs very strongly at this season, and it took 
us five days to go about seventy miles. At night 
we suffered terribly from the mosquitoes, and even 
during the day had to keep up an incessant fanning 
to drive off these pestilent little vampires. They 
were so numerous that you could catch them by 
handfuls, and their humming resembled that of a 
hive of bees. These insects are the curse of all 
tropical countries, but Here they peculiarly abound 
in the marshes and lands covered with slime and 
mud left by the retiring waters, where the heat of 
the sun and the moisture combined, favor their ra¬ 
pid increase. My legs suffered especially from 
their attacks. 


MOUHOTS TRAVELS. 


173 


“ As the country was entirely inundated, we could 
not land anywhere, and even after killing a bird I 
frequently could not get at it. All this was very 
tantalizing, for the banks of the stream are very 
gay and attractive, nature wearing here her richest 
dress. 

“ At this time of the year the rains have entirely 
ceased, and do not return for several months. For 
some days the northeastern monsoon had been 
blowing, the weather was constantly fine, and the 
heat tempered by the wind. The waters, also, were 
beginning to subside. It was the period of the re¬ 
ligious fetes of the Siamese, and the river was almost 
incessantly crowded with long and handsome boats 
bearing flags, many of them manned by more than 
fifty rowers, all in new and bright-colored dresses, 
trying to pass each other, and exciting themselves 
by piercing cries and all sorts of noises. In some 
cases, however, sweet and agreeable music formed 
an accompaniment more grateful to the ear. One 
boat, belonging to a mandarin, was escorted by a 
number of others ; it was remarkable for its elaborate 
carving and the magnificence of its gilding, and was 
carrying yellow stuffs and other presents to the 
neighboring pagodas. 

“ The king rarely shows himself in public more 
than twice a year, once during the month of Octo¬ 
ber, and a second time on board his barge, when a 
procession is formed, consisting of three or four 
hundred boats, often containing more than 1,200 
persons. The effect produced by this aquatic pa¬ 
geant, with the rowers in their brilliant dresses, and 


174 


SIAM. 


the multitude of rich flags, is extremely gorgeous, 
and such as is only to be witnessed in the East. 

“ I was surprised to see the gaiety and light¬ 
heartedness of the people, in spite of the yoke 
which weighs on them, and the exorbitant taxes 
they have to pay; but the softness of the climate, 
the native gentleness of the race, and the long dur¬ 
ation of their servitude, from generation to gene¬ 
ration, have made them oblivious of the bitterness 
and hardships inseparable from despotism. 

“ Everywhere they were making preparations for 
their fishing season, for when the waters subside 
from the fields, the fish are most plentiful. Dried 
in the sun, they furnish food for the whole year, and 
are also exported in large quantities. My boat was 
so encumbered with chests, boxes, and instruments, 
that the space left for me was very confined, and I 
suffered from heat and want of air ; but these were 
trifles compared with the mosquitoes. 

“ On arriving at Ayutliia, my rowers conducted 
me direct to the excellent Father Larmandy, a 
French missionary, by whom I was expected. The 
good priest received me with great kindness, and 
placed at my disposal all he had to offer in his little 
house. He employs his leisure time in the study of 
natural history and in hunting, and frequently ac¬ 
companied me in my rambles. As we explored 
the woods we talked of our own charming country— 
France. 

“ After a long hunting or rowing expedition, we 
always, on our return home, found our repast pre¬ 
pared by my servant Niou, who excelled in Siamese 


MOUHOT'S TRAVELS. 


175 


cookery, and which our fatigue made us doubly ap¬ 
preciate. Rice and omelette, or curried fish, bam¬ 
boo-stalks, haricots, and other wild vegetables, 
formed our diet, with the addition of roast fowls 
and game when the chase had been fortunate. 
Three chickens cost a ‘ fuand ’ (37 centimes). 

“ The heat was sometimes overwhelming ; for a 
week we had 90 degrees of Fahrenheit in the shade 
throughout the twenty-four hours, but the mosqui¬ 
toes were fewer in number, which was a great relief. 
In our excursions we visited some ruins amid th© 
woods, and I made a collection of beautiful butter¬ 
flies, and found several insects new to me. When I 
reach Pakpriau, which is a few days’ journey to the 
north, on the frontier of the lake, I shall find a 
mountain country, where I am sure of a plentiful 
harvest of insects and land shells. 

“ The comet, which I had already observed on 
my journey, shone here with increased brilliancy, 
and it was difficult not to believe that the extreme 
heat was owing to the influence of this meteor. 

“ I drank nothing but tea, hoping by abstinence 
from cold water, and from all wine and spirits, to 
escape fever. So far, my health had certainly 
never been better, not even in the north of Russia. 
Since the ports have been opened to English and 
othe'r European vessels, everything has been dou¬ 
bled in price, but still remained cheap as com¬ 
pared with Europe, and I did not spend more 
than a franc a day for my own living and that of 
my men. The people flocked to see my collec¬ 
tions, and could not imagine what I should do 


176 


SIAM. 


with so many animals and insects. I have before 
mentioned the skillful management of boats, and 
the fearlessness in swimming and diving, displayed 
by very young children. I used to amuse myself 
by offering some of them my cigar-ends to smoke, 
in return for which they would run after butter¬ 
flies, and bring them to me uninjured. 

Sir John Bowring quotes the following account, 
as given by Mr. Abeel, of a child whose aquatic 
virtues naturally excited much attention in Siam : 

“ Mr. Hunter sent for us to witness a sight 
which, in more enlightened countries than Siam, 
would be considered equally strange. It was a 
young child sporting in the water as in its native 
element, with all the buoyancy and playfulness of 
a fish. Its evolutions are astonishing, sometimes 
rolling over with a rapid motion and apparently 
no exertion, then turning round like a hoop, by 
bending its face under as it lies on its back, and 
throwing its feet over its head. It floats like a 
cork, with no apparent motion of any of the mus¬ 
cles ; occasionally allows itself to sink till only 
half of the head is seen, dives, holds its face un¬ 
der water enough to alarm those who are igno¬ 
rant of its powers, and yet appears to breathe as 
easily as though it had suffered no suspension of 
respiration. From its actions and countenance it 
is evidently delighted with the exercise, evinces no 
fatigue, nor the least apprehension, and often cries 
when taken up. It is a singular object, both in 
and out of the water. It is three years old, very 
small, can neither speak nor walk, is very defect- 


M0UE0T8 TRAVELS. 


177 


ive in sight, will take nothing but its earliest pro¬ 
vision,—in fact, appears quite idiotic, and has ex¬ 
hibited the same fondness for the water, and pe¬ 
culiar feats in it, from the first year of its age, 
the first time it was tried.” 

This infant phenomenon will do to go along 
with the Siamese twins, who, by the way, are the 
children of a Chinese father, and will serve to illus¬ 
trate what Mouhot says about the naturalness 
with which the little children in Siam take to the 
water. We resume Mouhot’s narrative : 

“I discovered here a sort of spider, which is 
also, I believe, found at the Cape, from which a 
silken thread may be drawn out by taking hold 
of the end hanging from its body. One has but 
to go on winding ; the thread is very strong, and 
never breajts. 

“It requires some time to become accustomed 
to the shrill chirpings during the night of myriads 
of grasshoppers and other insects, which seem 
never to sleep. There appears to be no such 
thing as silence or repose; everywhere is a con¬ 
tinual stir, the gushing overflow of life in this ex¬ 
uberant region. 

“ What a contrast between the subdued tints 
and cold skies of Europe, and this burning clime 
and glittering firmament! How pleasant it was 
to rise in the early morning before the glowing 
sun had begun his course; and sweeter still in 
the evening to listen to the thousand sounds, the 
sharp and metallic cries, which seemed as though 
an army of goldsmiths were at work ! 


178 


SIAM. 


“ The people here might be extremely happy, 
were they not kept in such abject slavery ; bounti- 
' ful nature, that second mother, treats them as her 
.spoilt children, and does all for them. The forests 
abound with vegetables and exquisite fruits ; the 
rivers, the lakes, and the ponds teem with fish ; a 
few bamboos suffice to construct a house, while the 
periodical inundations render the lands wonderfully 
fertile. Man has but to sow and to plant ; the sun 
saves him all further trouble ; and he neither 
knows nor feels the want of all those articles of 
luxury which form part of the very existence of a 
European. 

“ On the 13th November we arrived at a village 
called Arajik, where the land was more elevated. 
Here I killed several white squirrels, animals 
which I had not met with in the neighborhood of 
Bangkok. It is only in the solitude and depth of 
the woods that one can fully admire and enter 
into the sort of harmony and concord which reigns 
in the songs of the various birds, forming such a 
pleasing kind of symphony that the voice of one is 
rarely overpowered by that of another ; one can 
enjoy at once the general effect and the melodious 
note of the particular winged musician we prefer. 
Scarcely does the sun begin to gild the tops of the 
trees, when, alert and gay, they commence their 
morning hymn. The martins, the warblers, the 
drongos, and the dominicans, respond to the turtle¬ 
doves’ cooing in the highest branches. Music of a 
less dulcet nature is discoursed by the aquatic and 
rapacious tribes, such as cranes, herons, and king- 


MOUHOT’S TIiAVELS. 


179 


fishers, who from time to time utter their piercing 
cries. 

“ I procured a guide in the mandarin of the vil¬ 
lage, who received me courteously, and offered me, 
in return for some trifling presents, a breakfast of 
rice, fish and bananas. I requested his aid in ar¬ 
ranging my purposed visit to Mount Phrabat, a 
favorite object of pilgrimage among the Siamese, 
who resort thither yearly in great numbers to. adore 
the sacred footprint of Buddha. He volunteered 
to accompany me, an offer which I gratefully ac¬ 
cepted.” 


CHAPTER XII. 

mouhot’s visit to phrabat and patawi. 

O NE of the most famous of the holy places of 
Siam, and one which it is now comparatively 
easy to visit, is the shrine of “ the footstep of Bud¬ 
dha.” This footstep was discovered early in the 
seventeenth century by the king who is called the 
founder of the second dynasty. As he had been, 
before his accession to the throne, a member of the 
priesthood, and “ very popular as a learned and re¬ 
ligious teacher,” it is easy to see what aptitude he 
had for such a discovery. It is a favorite resort for 
pilgrims. 

“ Bishop Pallegoix,” says Bowring, “ speaks of 
a large assemblage of gaily-ornamented barges? 
filled with multitudes of people in holiday dresses, 
whom he met above Ayuthia, going on a pilgrimage 
to the ‘ foot of Buddha.’ The women and girls 
wore scarfs of silk and bracelets of gold and silver, 
and filled the air with their songs, to which troops 
of priests and young men responded in noisy mu¬ 
sic. The place of debarkation is Tha Rua, which 
is on the road to Phrabat, where the footprint of 
the god is found. More than five hundred barges 


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MOUHOT’S TRAVELS, 


181 


were there, all illuminated: a drama was performed 
on the shore ; there was a great display of vocal 
and instrumental music, tea-drinking, playing at 
cards and dice, and the merry festivities lasted 
through the whole night. 

“ Early the following day, the cortege departed 
by the river. It consisted of princes, nobles, rich 
men, ladies, girls, priests, all handsomely clad. 
They landed, and many proceeded on foot, while 
the more distinguished mounted on elephants to 
move towards the sacred mountain. In such local¬ 
ities the spirit of fanaticism is usually intemperate 
and persecuting ; and the bishop says, the gover¬ 
nor received him angrily, and accused him of ‘ in¬ 
tending to debauch his people by making them 
Christians.’ But he was softened by presents and 
explanations, and ultimately gave the bishop a 
passport, recommending him to ‘ all the authorities 
and chiefs of villages under his command, as a 
Christian priest, (farang,) and as his friend, and or¬ 
dering that he should be kindly treated, protected 
and furnished with all the provisions he might re¬ 
quire.’ 

“ Of his visit to the sacred mountain, so much 
the resort of Buddhist pilgrims, Pallegoix gives 
this account : 

“ ‘ I engaged a guide, mounted an elephant, and 
took the route of Phrabat, followed by my people. 
I was surprised to find a wide and excellent road, 
paved with bricks, and opened in a straight line 
across the forests. On both sides of the road, at a 
league’s distance, were halls or stations, with wells 


182 


SIAM. 


dug for the use of the pilgrims. Soon the road be¬ 
came crooked, and we stopped to bathe in a large 
pond. At four o’clock, we reached the magnificent 
monastery of Phrabat, built on the declivity, but 
nearly at the foot of a tall mountain, formed by 
fantastic rocks of a bluish color. The monastery 
has several walls surrounding it; and having entered 
the second enclosure, we found the abbe-prince, seat¬ 
ed on a raised floor, and directing the labors of a 
body of workmen. His attendants called on us to 
prostrate ourselves, but we did not obey them. “ Si¬ 
lence !” he said; “ you know not that the farang 
honor their grandees by standing erect.” I ap¬ 
proached, and presented him with a bottle of sal- 
volatile, which he smelt with delight. I requested 
he would appoint some one to conduct us to see the 
vestige of Buddha ; and he called his principal as¬ 
sistant, (the balat,) and directed him to accompany 
us. The balat took us round a great court sur¬ 
rounded with handsome edifices ; showed us two 
large temples ; and we reached a broad marble 
staircase with balustrades of gilded copper, and 
made the round of the terrace which is the base of 
the monument. All the exterior of this splendid 
edifice is gilt ; its pavement is square, but it takes 
the form of a dome, and is terminated in a pyramid 
a hundred and twenty feet high. The gates and 
windows, which are double, are exquisitely wrought. 
The outer gates are inlaid with handsome devices 
in mother-of-pearl, and the inner gates are adorned 
with gilt pictures representing the events in the his¬ 
tory of Buddha. 


MOUHOT'S TRAVELS. 


183 


“ * The interior is yet more brilliant; the pave¬ 
ment is covered with silver mats. At the end, on 
a throne ornamented with precious stones, is a 
statue of Buddha in massive silver, of the height of 
a man; in the middle is a silver grating, which 
surrounds the vestige, whose length is about eigh¬ 
teen inches. It is not distinctly visible, being cov¬ 
ered with rings, ear ornaments, bracelets, and gold 
necklaces, the offerings of devotees when they 
come to worship. The history of the relic is this: 
In the year 1602, notice was sent to the king, at 
Ayuthia, that a discovery had been made at the 
foot of a mountain, of what appeared to be a foot¬ 
mark of Buddha. The king sent his learned men, 
and the most intelligent priests, to report if the 
lineaments of the imprint resembled the descrip¬ 
tion of the foot of Buddha, as given in the sacred 
Pali writings. The examination having taken place, 
and the report being in the affirmative, the king 
caused the monastery of Phrabat to be built, 
which has been enlarged and enriched by his suc¬ 
cessors. 

“ 4 After visiting the monument, the balat es¬ 
corted us to a deep well, cut out of the solid stone ; 
the water is good, and sufficient to provide for crowds 
of pilgrims. The abbe-prince is the sovereign lord 
of the mountain and its environs within a circuit of 
eight leagues ; he has from four to five thousand 
men under his orders, to be employed as he directs 
in the service of the monastery. On the day of 
my visit, a magnificent palanquin, such as is used 
by great princes, was brought to him as a present 


184 


SIAM. 


from the king. He had the civility to entertain 
us as well as he could. I remarked that the kit¬ 
chen was under the care of a score of young girls, 
and they gave the name of pages to the youths 
who attended us. In no other monastery is this 
usage to be found. 

“ ‘ His highness caused us to be lodged in a 
handsome wooden house, and gave me two guards 
of honor to serve and watch over me, forbidding 
my going out at night on account of tigers. The 
following morning I took leave of the good abbe- 
prince, mounted my elephant, and taking another 
road, we skirted the foot of the mountain till we 
reached a spring of spouting waters. We found 
there a curious plant, whose leaves were altogether 
like the shape and the colors of butterflies. We 
took a simple breakfast in the first house we met 
with; and at four o’clock in the afternoon we 
reached our boat, and after a comfortable night’s 
rest we left Tha Eua to return to our church at 
Ayutliia.’ ” 

M. Mouhot thus describes his journey from Ay- 
uthia: 

“ At seven o’clock in the morning my host was 
waiting for me at the door, with elephants mount¬ 
ed by their drivers, and other attendants necessary 
for our expedition. At the same hour in the even¬ 
ing we reached our destination, and before many 
minutes had elapsed, all the inhabitants were in¬ 
formed of our arrival; priests and mountaineers 
were all full of curiosity to look at the stranger. 
Among the principal people of the place I dis- 


MOUHOT'S TRAVELS. 


185 


tributed some little presents, with which they were 
delighted; but my fire-arms and other weapons 
were especially the subjects of admiration. I paid 
a visit to the prince of the mountain, who was 
detained at home by illness. He ordered break¬ 
fast for me ; and expressing his regret at not be¬ 
ing able to accompany me, sent four men to serve 
as guides and assistants. As a return for his 
kindness and urbanity, I presented him with a 
small pistol, which he received with extreme grati¬ 
fication. 

“We proceeded afterwards to the western side 
of the mountain, where is the famous temple con¬ 
taining the footprint of Samona-Kodom, the Bud¬ 
dha of Indo-China. I was filled with astonishment 
and admiration on arriving at this point, and feel 
utterly incapable of* describing the spectacle which 
met my view. What convulsion of Nature—what 
force could have upheaved those immense rocks, 
piled one upon another in such fantastic forms ? 
Beholding such a chaos, I could well understand 
how the imagination of this simple people, who are 
ignorant of the true God, should have here dis¬ 
covered signs of the marvellous, and trapes of their 
false divinities. It was as if a second and recent 
deluge had just abated ; this sight alone was 
enough to recompense me for all my fatigues. 

“ On the mountain summit, in the crevices of the 
rocks, in the valleys, in the caverns, all around, 
could be seen the footprints of animals, those of 
elephants and tigers being most strongly marked ; 
but I am convinced that many of them were 


186 


SIAM. 


formed by antediluvian and unknown animals. All 
these creatures, according to the Siamese, formed 
the cortege of Buddha in his passage over the moun¬ 
tain. 

“As for the temple itself, there is nothing re¬ 
markable about it; it is like most of the pagodas 
in Siam—on the one hand unfinished, and on the 
other in a state of dilapidation ; and it is built of 
brick, although both stone and marble abound at 
Phrabat. The approach to it is by a flight of large 
steps, and the walls are covered with little pieces of 
colored glass, forming arabesques in great variety, 
which glitter in the sun with striking effect. The 
panels and cornices are gilt; but what chiefly at¬ 
tracts attention by the exquisite workmanship are 
the massive ebony doors, inlaid with mother-of- 
pearl of different colors, and arranged in beautiful 
designs. The interior of the temple does not cor¬ 
respond with the outside ; the floor is covered with 
silver matting, and the walls bear traces of gilding, 
but they are blackened by time and smoke. A cata¬ 
falque rises in the centre, surrounded with strips of 
gilded serge, and there is to be seen the famous 
footprint of Buddha. To this sacred spot the pil¬ 
grims bring their offerings, cut paper, cups, dolls, 
and an immense number of toys, many of them 
being wrought in gold and silver. 

“ After staying a week on the mountain, and add¬ 
ing many pretty and interesting.objects to my col¬ 
lection, our party returned to Arajik, the prince of 
Phrabat insisting on sending another guide with me, 
although my friend, the mandarin, with his attend- 


M0UH0T8 TRAVELS. 


187 


ants and elephants, had kindly remained to escort 
me back to his village. There I again partook of 
his hospitality, and, taking leave of him the day fol¬ 
lowing, I resumed my voyage up the river. Before 
night I arrived at Saraburi, the chief town of the 
province of Pakpriau, and the residence of the gov¬ 
ernor. 

“ Saraburi is a place of some extent, the popu¬ 
lation consisting chiefly of Siamese, Chinese, and 
Laotian agriculturists; and consists, like all towns 
and villages in Siam, of house^constructed of bam¬ 
boo. They peep out, half hidden among the foli¬ 
age along the banks of the river ; beyond are rice- 
plantations, and, further in the background, exten¬ 
sive forests, inhabited solely by wild animals. 

“ On the morning of the 26th we passed Pakpriau, 
near which the cataracts begin. The waters were 
still high, and we had much trouble to fight against 
the current. A little to the north of this town I met 
with a poor family of Laotian Christians, of whom 
the good Father Larmandy had spoken to me. We 
moored our boat near their house, hoping that it 
would remain in safety while I explored the moun¬ 
tains in the neighborhood, and visited Patawi, 
which is the resort of the Laotian pilgrims, as 
Phrabat is of the Siamese. 

“ All the country from the banks of the river to 
the hills, a distance of about eight or nine miles, 
and the whole surface of this mountain-range, is 
covered with brown iron-ore and aerolites ; where 
they occur in the greatest abundance, vegetation 
is scanty and consists principally of bamboo, but 


188 


BIAM. 


it is rich and varied in those places where the de¬ 
tritus has formed a thicker surface of soil. The 
dense forests furnish gum and oil, which would be 
valuable for commerce if the indolent natives could 
be prevailed on to collect them. They are, how¬ 
ever, infested with leopards, tigers, and tiger-cats. 
Two dogs and a pig were carried off from the im¬ 
mediate vicinity of the hut of the Christian guar¬ 
dians of our boat during our stay at Pakpriau ; 
but the following day I had the pleasure of mak¬ 
ing the offending leopard pay for the robbery 
with his life, and his skin served me for a mat. 

“ Where the soil is damp and sandy I found 
numerous traces of these animals, but. those of 
the royal tiger are more uncommon. During the 
night the inhabitants dare not venture out of 
doors ; but in the day-time the creatures, satisfied 
with the fruits of their predatory rambles, skulk 
into their dens in the recesses of the woods. 
One day I went to explore the eastern part of 
the chain of Pakpriau, and, becoming excited in 
the chase of a wild boar, we soon lost ourselves 
in the forest. The animal made his way through 
the brushwood much more easily than we could, 
encumbered as we were with guns, hatchets, and 
boxes, and we ere long missed the scent. By the 
terrified cries of the monkeys we knew we could 
not be far from some tiger or leopard, doubtless, 
like ourselves, in search of prey ; and, as night 
was drawing in, it became necessary to retrace 
our steps homeward for fear of some disagreea¬ 
ble adventure. With all our efforts, however, we 


MOUHOTS TRAVELS. 


189 


could not find the path. We were far from the 
border of the forest, and were forced to take up 
our abode in a tree, among the branches of which 
we made a sort of hammock. On the following 
daj T we regained the river. 

“ I endeavored fruitlessly to obtain oxen or ele¬ 
phants to carry our baggage with a view of ex¬ 
ploring the country, but all beasts of burden were 
in use for the rice-harvest. I therefore left my 
boat and its contents in charge of the Laotian 
family, and we set off, like pilgrims, on foot for 
Patawi, on a fine morning with a somewhat cloudy 
sky, which recalled to me the pleasant autumn 
days of my own country. My only companions 
were Kiie and my young Laotian guide. We 
followed for three hours, through forests infested 
with wild beasts, the road to Korat, and at last 
reached Patawi. As at Phrabat, there is a bell, 
both at the foot of the mount and at the en- 
trace of a long and wide avenue leading to the 
pagoda, which the pilgrims ring on arriving, to 
inform the good genii of their presence and be¬ 
speak a favorable hearing of their prayers. The 
mount is isolated, and about 450 feet in height ; 
its formation is similar to that of Phrabat, but, 
although its appearance is equally grand, it pre¬ 
sents distinct points of variation. Here are not 
to be seen those masses of rock, piled one upon 
another, as if hurled by the giants in a combat 
like that fabled of old. Patawi seems to be com¬ 
posed of one enormous rock, which rises almost 
perpendicularly like a wall, excepting the centre 


190 


SIAM. 


portion, which towards the south hangs over like 
a roof, projecting eighteen or twenty feet. At the 
first glance might be recognized the action of wa¬ 
ter upon a soil originally clay. 

“ There are many footprints similar to those of 
Phrabat, and in several places are to be seen en¬ 
tire trunks of trees in a state of petrifaction lying 
close to growing individuals of the same species. 
They have all the appearance of having been just 
felled, and it is only on testing their hardness 
with a hammer that one feels sure of not being 
mistaken. An ascent of several large stone steps 
leads, on the left hand, to the pagoda, and on 
the right, to the residence of the talapoins, or 
priests, who are three in number, a superior and 
two assistants, appointed to watch and pay rev¬ 
erence to the precious ‘ rays ’ of Somanakodom. 
Were the authors who have written about Bud¬ 
dhism ignorant of the signification of the word 
‘ ray ’ employed by the Buddhists ? Now, in the 
Siamese language, the same word which means 
‘ ray * signifies also shadow, and it is through re¬ 
spect for their deity that the first meaning is ap¬ 
plied. 

“ The priests were much surprised to see a 
* farang ’ (foreigner) in their pagoda, but some 
trifling gifts soon established me in their good 
graces. The superior was particularly charmed 
with a magnet which I gave him, and amused 
himself with it for a long time, uttering cries of de¬ 
lighted admiration as he saw it attract and pick 


MOTJHOTS TRAVELS. 


191 


up all the little pieces of metal which he placed 
near it. 

“ I went to the extreme north of the mount, 
where some generous being has kindly had con¬ 
structed, for the shelter of travellers, a hall, such 
as is found in many places near pagodas. The 
view here is indescribably splendid, and I cannot 
pretend to do justice either with pen or pencil to 
the grand scenes which here and elsewhere were 
displayed before my eyes. I can but seize the 
general effect and some of the details ; all I can 
promise to do is to introduce nothing which I have 
not seen. Hitherto all the views I had seen in Si¬ 
am had been limited in extent, but here the beauty 
of the country is exhibited in all its splendor. Be¬ 
neath my feet was a rich and velvety carpet of 
brilliant and varied colors ; an immense tract of 
forest, amidst which the fields of rice and the un¬ 
wooded spots appeared, like little streaks of green ; 
beyond, the ground, rising gradually, swells into 
hills of different elevations ; farther still to the 
north and east, in the form of a semicircle, is the 
mountain-chain of Phrabat and that of the king¬ 
dom of Muang-Lom ; and in the extreme distance 
those of Korat, fully sixty miles distant. All these 
join one another, and are, in fact, but a single 
range. But how describe the varieties of form 
among all these peaks ! In one place they seem to 
melt into the vapory rose-tints of the horizon, 
while nearer at hand the peculiar structure and co¬ 
lor of the rocks bring out more strongly the rich¬ 
ness of the vegetation ; there, again, are deep sha- 


192 


SIAM. 


dows vying with the deep blue of the heaven 
above ; everywhere those brilliant sunny lights, 
those delicate hues, those warm tones, which make 
the tout ensemble perfectly enchanting. The spec¬ 
tacle is one which the eye of a painter can seize 
and revel in, but which his brush, however skillful, 
can transfer most imperfectly to his canvas. 

“ At the sight of this unexpected panorama a 
cry of admiration burst simultaneously from all 
mouths. Even my poor companions, generally in¬ 
sensible to the beauties of nature, experienced a 
moment of ecstasy at the sublimity of the scene. 

‘ Oh! di, di /’ (beautiful,) cried my young Laotian 
guide ; and when I asked Kue what he thought 
of it, 4 Oh ! master,’ he replied, in his mixed jar¬ 
gon of Latin, English, and Siamese, 4 the Siamese 
see Buddha on a stone, and do not see God in 
these grand things. I am pleased to have been to 
Patawi.’ 

“ On the opposite side, viz. the south, the picture 
is different. Here is a vast plain, which extends 
from the base of Patawi and the other mountains 
beyond Ayuthia, whose high towers are visible in 
the distance, 120 miles off. At the first glance one 
distinguishes what was formerly the bed of the 
sea, this great plain having taken the place of an 
ancient gulf : proof of which is afforded by nu¬ 
merous marine shells, many of which I collected 
in a perfect state of preservation ; while the 
rocks, with their footprints and fossil shells, are in¬ 
dicative of some great change at a still earlier pe¬ 
riod. 


vf/\rTXTrn atxtq AW K AP A T FROM PAT AWT 

































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































MOUIIOT’S TRAVELS. 


193 


“ Every evening some of the good Laotian moun¬ 
taineers came to see the ‘ farang.’ These Laotians 
differ slightly from the Siamese : they are more 
slender, have the cheek-bones more prominent, and 
have also darker complexions. They wear their 
hair long, while the Siamese shave half of the head, 
leaving the hair to grow only on the top. They 
deserve praise for their intrepidity as hunters, if 
they have not that of warriors. Armed with a 
cutlass or bow, with which latter weapon they ad¬ 
roitly launch, to a distance of one hundred feet, 
balls of clay hardened in the sun, they wander 
about their vast forests, undismayed by the ja¬ 
guars and tigers infesting them. The chase is their 
principal amusement, and, when they can procure 
a gun and a little Chinese powder, they track the 
wild boar, or, lying in wait for the tiger or the 
deer, perch themselves on a tree or in a little hut 
raised on bamboo stakes. 

“ Their poverty borders on misery, but it main¬ 
ly results from excessive indolence, for they will 
cultivate just sufficient rice for their supportthis 
done, they pass the rest of their time in sleep, 
lounging about the woods, or making excursions 
from one village to another, paying visits to their 
friends on the way. 

“ At Patawi I heard much of Korat, which is the 
capital of the province of the same name, situated 
five days’ journey northeast of Pakpriau—that is, 
about 120 miles—and I determined, if possible, to 
visit it by and by. It appears to be a rich country, 
producing, especially, silk of good quality. Caout- 


194 


SIAM. 


ckouc-trees abound, but are neglected by the inha¬ 
bitants, who are probably ignorant of their value. 
I brought back a magnificent specimen of the gum, 
which was much admired by the English merchants 
at Bangkok. Living, according to report, is fabu¬ 
lously cheap; six fowls may be purchased for a 
fuang, (37 centimes,) 100 eggs for the same sum, 
and all other things in proportion. But to get there 
one has to cross the famous forest of £ the King of 
the Eire,’ which is visible from the top of Patawi, 
and it is only in the dry season that it is safe to at¬ 
tempt this; during the rains both the water and the 
atmosphere are fatally pestilential. The supersti¬ 
tious Siamese do not dare to use fire-arms there, 
from fear of attracting evil spirits who would kill 
them. 

“ During all the time I spent on the top of the 
mountain, the chief priest was unremitting in his 
attentions to me. He had my luggage carried into 
his own room, gave me up his mats to add to mine, 
and in other ways practiced self-denial to make me 
as comfortable as was in his power. The priests 
complain much of the cold in the rainy season, and 
of the torrents which then rush from the summit of 
the mountain ; they are also greatly disturbed by the 
tigers, which, driven from the plains by the inunda¬ 
tions, take refuge on the high- ground, and carry 
away their dogs and fowls out of the very houses. 
But their visits are not confined to that period of the 
year. About ten o’clock on the second night of my 
stay the dogs suddenly began to utter plaintive 
howls. ‘ A tiger ! a tiger !’ cried my Laotian, who 


MO TJHO1 'S TRA VELS. 


195 


was lying near me. I started up, seized my gun, 
and half opened the door; but the profound dark¬ 
ness made it impossible to see anything, or to go out 
without uselessly exposing myself. I therefore con¬ 
tented myself with firing off my gun to frighten the 
creature. The next morning we found one of our 
dogs gone. 

“We scoured the neighborhood for about a week, 
and then set off once more by water for Bangkok, 
as I wished to put my collections in order and send 
them off. 

“ The places which two months previously had 
been deep in water were now dry, and everywhere 
around their dwellings the people were digging 
their gardens and beginning to plant vegetables. 
The horrible mosquitoes had reappeared in greater 
swarms than ever, and I pitied my poor servants, 
who, after rowing all day, could obtain no rest at 
night. 

“ During the day, especially in the neighborhood 
of Pakpriau, the heat was intense, the thermometer 
being ordinarily at 90° Fahrenheit (28° Reaumur) in 
the shade, and 140° Fahrenheit (49° Reaumur) in 
the sun. Luckily, we had no longer to contend with 
the current, and our boat, though heavily laden, pro¬ 
ceeded rapidly. W T e were about three hours’ sail 
from Bangkok, when I perceived a couple of Euro¬ 
pean boats, and in a room built for travellers near a 
pagoda I recognized three English captains of my 
acquaintance, one of whom had brought me to Sin¬ 
gapore. They were, with their wives, enjoying a 


196 


SIAM. 


picnic, and, on seeing me, insisted on my joining 
them and partaking of the repast. 

“ I reached Bangkok the same day, and was still 
uncertain as to a lodging, when M. Wilson, the cour¬ 
teous Danish consul, came to me, and kindly offered 
the hospitality of his magnificent house. 

“ I consider the part of the country which I had 
just passed through extremely healthy, except, per¬ 
haps, during the rains. It appears that in this sea¬ 
son the water, flowing down from the mountains 
and passing over a quantity of poisonous detritus, 
becomes impregnated with mineral substances, 
gives out pestilential miasmata, and causes the ter¬ 
rible jungle-fever, which, if it does not at once carry 
off the viotim, leaves behind it years of suffering. 
My journey, as has been seen, took place at the end 
of the rainy season and when the floods were sub¬ 
siding ; some deleterious exhalations, doubtless, still 
escaped, and I saw several natives attacked with in¬ 
termittent fever, but I had not had an hour’s illness. 
Ought I to attribute this immunity to the regimen I 
observed, and which had been strongly recommended 
to me—abstinence, all but total, from wine and 
spirits, and drinking only tea, never cold water ? I 
think so ; and I believe by such a course one is in 
no great danger.” 


CHAPTER XIII. 


FROM BANGKOK TO CHANTABOUN—A MISSIONARY JOUR¬ 
NEY IN 1835. 

S OON after his return from Phrabat and Pata- 
wi, Mouhot set out upon another journey, this 
time to the southward and eastward of Bangkok. 
These excursions w’ere preparatory to the more 
prolonged and adventurous tour of exploration in 
Cambodia and Laos ; and Chantaboun and the 
islands of the gulf lay directly in his way by the 
route on which he had determined to enter the for¬ 
mer country. For many years the region on the 
eastern shore of the gulf has been more or less fa¬ 
miliar to the foreign residents in Bangkok. So 
long ago as 1835 the Protestant missionaries ex¬ 
plored and mapped out, with a good degree of ac¬ 
curacy, the coast-line from the mouth of the Mei- 
nam to the mouth of the Chantaboun River. Ex¬ 
tracts from the journal of Dr. Bradley, the oldest 
of the American missionaries now resident in Siam, 
have been recently published, and give an interest¬ 
ing sketch of the country as it then was, as well 
as of the modes of travel nearly forty years ago, 
and the beginnings of the civilization in which. 


198 


SIAM. 


since that time, Siam has made such extraordinary 
progress. 

Dr. Bradley, accompanied by another missionary 
and wife, made his journey in the first vessel ever 
built in Siam on a European model. A young 
nobleman, who has since then become very distin¬ 
guished by reason of his interest in scientific pur¬ 
suits of every kind, and his attainments in various 
branches of knowledge, had built at Chantaboun a 
brig which he had named the “ Ariel,” and was 
about returning from Bangkok to that port. With 
the liberality and kindness by which his conduct 
towards the missionaries has always been charac¬ 
terized, he invited Dr. Bradley and his colleague to 
be his guests on the return voyage. Dr. Bradley 
thus speaks of the “ Ariel.” 

“ Went aboard of the brig Ariel to have a look 
at the first square-rigged vessel ever made in Si¬ 
am, and brought up a few days since from Chanta¬ 
boun to present to the king. Considering that this 
is the first essay made in this country to imitate 
European ship-building, that the young nobleman 
had but poor models, if any, to guide him, and that 
all his knowledge of ship-building has been gath¬ 
ered by here and there an observation of foreign 
vessels in port, this brig certainly reflects very 
great credit on his creative genius. Not only this, 
but other facts also indicate that the young noble¬ 
man is endowed with an uncommonly capacious 
mind for a Siamese. It appears that he is build¬ 
ing at Chantaboun several vessels of from 300 to 
400 tons burthen. His wife has just left our house, 



» 













































































































































































































































































































































FROM BANGKOK TO CHANTABOUN. 


199 


having spent the evening with Mrs. B. She pos¬ 
sesses many interesting qualities, and like her hus¬ 
band is fond of the society of Europeans and 
Americans. Her attendants were three or four fe¬ 
males who paddled the sampan in which she came, 
and carried her betel-box and other accompani¬ 
ments. They remained at the door in a crouching 
posture, while their mistress visited Mrs. B. Her 
dress consisted of a phanung of ordinary cloth, a 
Birmese jacket of crimson crape, a scarlet sash of 
the same material, and a leaden-colored shawl of 
the richest damask silk.” 

All preparations being made for the excursion, 
and an abundant supply of Christian tracts laid in 
for distribution among the natives as opportunity 
might offer, Dr. Bradley’s narrative continues, under 
date of November 12th, 1835 : 

“ One of the most delightful mornings I have seen 
since I left my dear native land. While the brig 
Ariel floated down with the tide, I called upon my 
brethren in compan} 7 with my wife, when I took 
leave of her for the first time since we were married. 
The brig had made more progress than we were 
aware, which subjected us to the inconvenience of 
overtaking her in an open boat under a burning sun. 
She was under full press of sail before we reached 
her, but with much exertion on our part to inspire 
our paddlers to lay out more strength, by crying out 
in the Chinese tongue qui qui , and in the Siamese 
reoiv reow, and by a full souled response on their 
part, we reached the brig at 12 A. M. We were 
somewhat disappointed in finding the cabin exclu- 


200 


SIAM. 


sively occupied by the mother and sisters of Luang 
Nai Sit, who being high in rank as females, must of 
course have the best accommodations on board. 
The mother is allied to the royal family, and conse¬ 
quently ranks higher than her husband, the p’ra- 
k’lang, though he is one of the first in point of office, 
being commander-in-chief of the Siamese forces, 
and prime minister and minister of foreign affairs. 
But Luang Nai Sit did all he could to make us com¬ 
fortable on deck, spreading a double awning over 
us, one of thin canvas, and the other of attap leaves. 
Our pride was somewhat uncomfortably tried by 
finding ourselves dependent upon K’oon Klin, the 
wife of Luang Nai Sit, for the common comforts of 
shipboard. But it is due to her and her husband 
to say that they were both very polite, and evident¬ 
ly regretted that they could not then make us per¬ 
fectly comfortable. They anxiously encouraged us 
with the promise that after a little time they would 
have matters in a better state, saying that their 
mother and sisters would leave the brig at Paknam, 
and give us the occupancy of the cabin. 

“ The more I dwell upon it, the more I am inter¬ 
ested in the Providence that has brought us on board 
this vessel. But it may be asked, What is there pe¬ 
culiarly interesting in it ? Why, here is a new Siam¬ 
ese brig, recently presented to the king of Siam, as 
the first specimen of a successful imitation of Euro¬ 
pean sliip-building, on her first voyage, volunteered 
by one of the first men in the kingdom to bear a 
company of missionaries to a province of Siam, 
carrying the everlasting gospel to a people who have 


FROM BANGKOK TO CITANTABOUN. 


201 


never heard it, and who, to use the expression of the 
nobleman who has volunteered to take us thither, 

4 have no God, no religion, and greatly need the la¬ 
bors of missionaries among them.’ 

“ On awaking the next morning, I find that we 
are lying at anchor, opposite Paknam, where the 
mother and sisters of our noble friend are to disem¬ 
bark. It is truly affecting to witness the kind at¬ 
tentions of Luang Nai Sit, and to observe how 
ready he is to anticipate our wants, and prepare to 
meet them. Last evening, while we were singing, a 
company of native singers removed their seats at 
the forecastle, and sitting down near to us, began to 
bawl out in the native style. Luang Nai Sit soon 
came to us and requested that we should go to the 
upper decfk, and take seats which he had prepared 
for us ; saying, 4 There is too much confusion for 
you to stay here ; go up yonder, and bless God un¬ 
disturbed.’ 

44 These native singers, I am informed, are now 
practicing with a view to sing to the white elephant 
at Chantaboun. They sang many times a day, of 
which I have become heartily sick. 

44 We weighed anchor very early in the morning 
of the 14th, and sailed with the tide in our favor for 
the bar. We were interested in witnessing the out- 
gushings of maternal and filial affection of the noble 
relatives just before we sailed from Paknam. Luang 
Nai Sit exhibited much of it on parting with his 
mother, and she was tenderly moved on taking leave 
of her son and grandchildren. [One of the latter 
was a little boy, who has recently become prime 


202 


SIAM. 


minister and minister of war.] We noticed that 
their tears were allowed to flow only in the cabin, 
out of sight of their slaves. On deck, and when in 
the act of parting, they were solemn and perfectly 
composed. A little after sunrise we came in sight 
of the mountains of Keo, which to me was a pecu¬ 
liarly gratifying sight. I had for months sighed 
after something of the kind to interrupt the dead 
monotony of Bangkok. There, do what you may 
by the means of telescopes and towers, you will dis¬ 
cover nothing but one unbroken plain.” 

We condense Dr. Bradley’s journal from this 
point, omitting unnecessary details of the voyage. 

“ Arose at four in the morning of the 15th, and 
found that we were at anchor a little south of the 
Keo Mountains, having Koh Chang or See Chang 
on the west, eight miles distant, and the coast of 
See Maha Bacha on the east, five miles distant. I 
know not when I have been so delighted with natu¬ 
ral scenery as at this time. Not a cloud was seen 
in the heavens. The moon walked in brightness 
amid myriads of twinkling suns and shining worlds. 
A balmy and gentle breeze just ruffled the bosom of 
the deep. The wonted confusion of the deck was 
perfectly hushed. Lofty mountains 'and a rugged 
and romantic coast darkened the eastern horizon. 
At five o’clock Luang Nai Sit invited us to go ashore 
with him. We readily accepted the invitation 
and accompanied our friend to the village of See 
Maha Bacha, attended by his body guard, armed 
with guns, swords, and lances. The scenery, as the 
dawn brightened, was most exhilarating. The moun- 


FROM BANGKOK TO Oil A N TAB 0 UN. 


203 


tains, hills, and plains were covered with vegetation 
in the liveliest green, with here and there a culti¬ 
vated spot. As we approached the settlement from 
the west, at our right was a rock bound coast. Just 
in the background of this, and parallel with it, was 
an admirably undulated ridge which seemed to be 
composed of hill rolled close upon hill. At our left 
were islands of lofty white-capped rocks. Farther 
removed, at the east, were mountains towering be¬ 
hind mountains. Before us was an extensive plain 
bounded with mountains far in the distance. We 
reached the village a little after sunrise, which we 
found to contain 300 or 400 souls, chiefly Siamese. 
It was a matter of not a little regret that we had no 
tracts to give them. The people seemed to live in 
somewhat of a tidy manner, not very unlike a poor 
villager in our own country. Still their houses were 
built of bamboo, and elevated, according to the 
Siamese custom, as on stilts. We called at several 
houses, and found the females engaged in eating 
their rice. We attempted to penetrate the jungle 
behind the settlement, but did not go far, as there 
seemed to be but little prospect that we should des¬ 
cry other settlements. 

“ Having spent a part of an hour in surveying the 
village, we followed our honorable guide along the 
beach, among immense ferruginous and quartz 
rocks having apparently been undermined by the 
restless ocean, and these were interlaid with small 
seashells of great variety. On the one hand we had 
the music of the roaring tide, on the other an ad¬ 
mirable jungle, overhanging the beach from the east, 


204 


SIAM. 


and thus protecting us from the blaze of the rising 
sun, while the air was perfumed with many a flower. 
Several boatloads of Luang Nai Sit’s retinue soon 
came off the brig to the shore, which composed a 
company of fifty or more. At length a boat came 
loaded with provisions for a picnic breakfast, all 
cooked and duly arranged on salvers. The whole 
company (ourselves excepted) sat down on the beach 
in three classes, and there partook of the repast 
with a keen relish. Luang Nai Sit and his brothers 
ate by themselves; the women, consisting of K’oon 
Klin, or wife of the chief, and her children and other 
high blood attendants, ate’ by themselves. After 
these had finished their breakfast, the multitude of 
dependents messed together. Meanwhile the natives 
of the village and vicinity flocked in, loaded with 
plantains, red peppers, ceri-leaves, cocoanuts, jack- 
fruit, etc., and presented them as tokens of respect 
to the son of their lord, the p’rak’lang, and to him 
they bowed and worshipped on their hands and 
knees. At 10 A. M. we returned to the brig in an 
uncovered boat, in company with K’oon Klin and 
her train. Luang Nai Sit could not, of course, re¬ 
turn in the same boat with the women, as it would 
be a violation of Siamese custom. He came in an¬ 
other boat behind us. The sun was very powerful, 
and that, together with the crowd and confusion of 
the company in the absence of their chief, quite 
overcame me in my feebleness of health. 

“ At 11 A. M. our anchor was again weighed, and 
we sailed very pleasantly before a gentle breeze, be¬ 
ing continually in full sight of the main land at our 


FROM BANGKOK TO CHAN TAB 0 UK. 


205 


left, and tlie islands of Koh Kram, Sewalan, and a 
number of others on our right. The former is 
noted for the quantities of turtles which are caught 
on its coasts, the latter is a cluster of verdant spots, 
probably uninhabited by man. Much of the main¬ 
land which we have as yet passed is mountainous, 
diversified with extensive plains, and covered with 
lofty timber. With the aid of the brig’s telescope 
we descried several villages on the shore.” 

After beating about for a night and a day in a 
good deal of uncertainty and some peril, (for the 
Siamese officers and crew were unskillful navigat¬ 
ors,) “ we were not a little disappointed on the morn¬ 
ing of the 18th in supposing that we were entering 
the mouth of Chantaboun Eiver, which proved to be 
but a passage between the island of Semet and the 
main coast. It seems that we have been beating 
for this passage between thirty and forty hours, and 
but a few miles from it all the time. The scenery 
about this place is quite charming, combining much 
of the romantic with the beautiful. Have sailed 
twenty or thirty miles this afternoon in full sight of 
the coast, passing many small islands, which have 
given us a very pleasing variety. Much of the 
coast is level near the sea, with towering mountains, 
several miles distant. One island which we passed 
near by is worthy of some notice. It is quite 
small, composed of rocks, which rise sixty or eighty 
feet above the water, and crowned with pleasant 
shrubbery. It has a wing extending out fifty feet 
or more, which is about thirty feet high, and 
through this there is a natural tunnel, having 


206 


SIAM. 


much the appearance of an artificial arch of 
stone, and apparently large enough to allow a 
common sized boat to pass. Hence the islet is 
called Koh Loo. 

“ On the morning of the 19th, the curtains of a 
tempestuous night having been removed, very 
much to our joy we found that we were in sight 
of our desired haven, and we enjoyed much in¬ 
teresting scenery while tossing about during the 
day. There are many bold islands in this vicinity, 
with rocky bases, and crowned with luxuriant ve¬ 
getation. Koh Ch’ang lies fifteen or twenty miles 
south of us. It is a large island, with lofty peaks, 
and it is said to be famous for elephants, and that 
there are several thousand souls upon it. Prit 
Prote are three small islands, interesting only as 
affording pleasant objects to the eye of the natu¬ 
ralist. Koh Nom Low is a very curious pinnacle 
near the entrance into the mouth of Chantaboun 
Kiver. With a small base, it rises out of the sea 
probably 400 feet. The mouth of the river is ad¬ 
mirably guarded by an arm of a mountain ridge, 
which extend-s out into the sea and embraces the 
harbor, which is also artificially protected by two 
batteries. The coast extends east by southeast. 
That part of it east of the river, in the immedi¬ 
ate vicinity of the sea, is level, low, and covered 
with a thick jungle. The main body of the trees 
appear low, having interspersed among them many 
tall trees, with here and there small hills, hand¬ 
somely attired. Parallel with this coast, and ap¬ 
parently ten miles from the sea, the mountain Sah 


FROM BANGKOK TO ' UIANTABOUN. 


207 


Bap towers into the clouds, and stretches a long 
way to the north and to the south. The coast 
west of the river is rugged and mountainous. In 
the apparent direction of the river there are sev¬ 
eral sublime peaks. As far as the eye can com¬ 
mand, vegetation appears luxuriant, but is quite 
different from that of Bangkok. The cocoanut 
palm, which is the queen of all the jungles in that 
vicinity, is not to be seen here. The appearance 
of the water about the mouth of this river is per¬ 
fectly clear, while that of the Meinam is extremely 
turbid.” 

At this point the missionaries’ Siamese friend 
left them and proceeded in advance to Ghantaboon. 
On the day following, Nov. 21st, “ he sent back a 
small junk for us, which we gladly accepted, and 
took passage in her, starting in the morning, and 
expected of course that we should arrive at our des¬ 
tination early in the evening. But almost every 
rod of our way seemed beset with extraordinary 
obstacles. In the first place we had a. strong con¬ 
trary wind to contend with, which obliged us to 
beat till late in the afternoon with but little suc¬ 
cess. In the early evening the breeze became gen¬ 
tle, when, with great entreaty on our part, our boat¬ 
men were induced to take to their oars. Presently 
we found a strong current against us ; and within 
the next half hour our boat touched the bottom of 
the channel, and became immovable in the mud. 
Now it seemed certain, that instead of reaching our 
destination early in the evening as we had hoped, 
we should be under the necessity of staying aboard 


208 


SIAM. 


of oar craft all night, exposed to the inclemency of 
the night air, and with but a scauty supply of food. 
It was well that we had taken a late breakfast, for 
a cup of tea with sea bread and cheese had to suf¬ 
fice both for our dinner and supper. With these 
we satisfied the cravings of hunger, being, I trust, 
thankful to God that we were so well fed. Hav¬ 
ing taken our frugal supper, we sought for places 
to lodge ourselves for the night. As for a cabin, of 
course there was none in such a junk. There were 
holds, but they were filled with luggage. My fellow 
travellers preferred to seek their rest on the open 
deck in a half-reclining posture, wrapped up in 
their cloaks. I found a place in the * hinder part 
of the ship ’ just large enough to lie down in, where 
I spread my mattress and tried to sleep. About 
midnight the tide rose, and bore our junk away 
from the mud. But it was only a little time, when 
it was announced by a singular scraping on our 
boat’s bottom, and by a tremendous scolding of a 
party of Chinamen whom we had met, that we had 
found another obstacle. It was soon revealed that 
we had got entangled in a fish-net belonging to the 
Chinamen. Here we were detained an hour or 
more in efforts to disengage our boat from the 
ropes of the fish-net. After this was done I know 
not what other impediments we met with, for I 
fell into a sleep. 

“ At 4 A.M. it was announced that we had ar¬ 
rived at our destination. We shook off our slum¬ 
bers and looked out, and behold our junk was an¬ 
chored in front of a house with open doors, literally, 


FROM BANGKOK TO CHANTABOUN 


209 


and windows without shutters, while a piercing, 
chilling wind was whistling through it. It proved 
to be, not in Chantaboun, but several miles below 
it at a Siamese dockyard. As all our boatmen had 
gone ashore, and we were left without a guide, we 
determined to * stick to the ship ’ till full day, and 
accordingly lay down and took another nap. 
When we arose early in the morning, we were sur¬ 
prised to learn that Luang Nai Sit and his retinue 
had lodged in that bleak house th© night before, 
and had gone up the river to Chantaboun, and 
that this was the place he designed to have us oc¬ 
cupy while we sojourn in this part of Siam. This 
house assigned to us here is situated over the wa¬ 
ter, exposed to the strong north winds that blow 
from the opposite side of the river. It is built of 
bamboo slats and small poles, so as to operate as a 
kind of sieve for the bleak winds. The most of 
the floor is also of bamboo slats, and admits strong 
currents of air through them, while the waves are 
both heard and seen dashing beneath them. The 
roof is made of attap leaves, which rattle like hail 
in the wind. The best rooms in the house, two* in 
number, are enclosed with bamboo slats and lined 
with cajung. These were politely assigned to us by 
our kind friend, who is ever ready to deny himself 
to oblige us. This would be a delightfully cool 
place in the spring and summer months, but at this 
season of the year it is unpleasantly chilly. 

“ This place has no importance, only what is con¬ 
nected with the ship-building carried on. here. 
There are now on the stocks not less than fifty 


210 


SIAM. 


vessels, consisting of two ships of 300 or 400 tons 
burden, thirty or forty war-boats or junks, and a 
number of smaller craft.” 

On the following day the missionaries made an 
excursion up the river as high as the p’rak’lang’s 
establishment, where “ we left our boat and proceed¬ 
ed by land two or three miles to Bang Ka Chah. 
The river up to the place where we left it is exceeding¬ 
ly serpentine, the banks being low and overflowed by 
the tides, and covered with an impenetrable jungle 
of low timber. 

“ As we drew near the p’rak’lang’s, there ap¬ 
peared pleasant fields of paddy, and at a distance 
a beautiful acclivity partially cleared, around which 
government is building extensive fortifications. The 
works are rapidly advancing. The circumference 
of the enclosure w r hen finished will not vary much 
from two miles. The embankment is forty feet 
above the surface of the ground, and the depth of 
the ditch on the outside will increase it six feet. 
The earth is of a remarkably red color, and gives 
the embankment the appearance of solid brick. 
This is to be surrounded by a breastwork six feet 
high, with port-holes, and made of brick literally 
dug out of the earth, which, a few feet from the 
surface, possesses the consistence of brick that had 
been a little dried in the sun. Blocks eighteen 
inches in length, nine in breadth, and six in thick¬ 
ness, are cut out by Chinamen and Malaj^s, which, 
with a little smoothing, are prepared for laying into 
the wall. 

“We were objects of great curiosity to the na- 


FROM BANGKOK TO CHANTABOTJN. 


211 


tives. Our passport was only to tell them that we 
came from Bangkok in Koon Sit’s brig, and this 
was perfectly satisfactory. With the idea that 
Bang Ka Chah was but a little way onward, we 
continued to walk, being very much exhilarated 
by the sight of palmy plains, palmy hills and ex¬ 
tensive rice plantations. The country appeared to 
have a first rate soil, and to be very extensively cul¬ 
tivated. The paddy fields were heavy laden and 
well filled. It was harvest time. In one direction 
you might see reapers ; in another gatherers of the 
sheaves ; in another threshers ; one with his buffa¬ 
loes treading out the grain, another with his bin 
and rack, against which he was beating the sheaves. 
The lots were divided by foot-paths merely, con¬ 
sisting of a little ridge thrown up by the farmers. 

“ In Bang Ka Chah we found a settlement of 
4,000 or more Chinese. Our guide conducted us 
to a comfortable house, where, much to my com¬ 
fort, we were offered a place to lie down, and pre¬ 
sented with tea and fruit. We had not been in 
the place ten minutes, before we had attracted 
around us hundreds of men, women and children, 
who were as eager to examine us Americans as the 
latter once were to examine the Siamese twins. The 
inhabitants appeared remarkably healthy. I could 
not discover a sickly countenance among them. 
There were many very aged people. Children were 
particularly abundant and interesting. How invit¬ 
ing a harvest, thought I, is here for the future 
missionary. The houses are mostly built of brick 
after the common style of Chinese architecture. 


212 


SIAM. 


The streets are crooked, narrow and filthy. At 4 
o’clock, P.M., we returned to the house of Luang 
Nai Sit, who lives near his father, the p’rak’lang, 
where we were refreshed with a good dinner, after 
which we took to our boats and arrived at our 
lodgings at seven o’clock in the evening. 

“We have made an excursion to the town of 
Chantaboun. It is about nine miles from the 
place where we stay, being on the main branch of 
the river, while Bang Ka Chah is on a smaller one. 
After we passed the p’rak’lang’s, there was much to 
be seen that was in no small degree interesting. The 
river was from sixty to eighty yards wide, appar¬ 
ently deep and exceedingly serpentine. The banks 
were generally cleared of wild timber, gently ele¬ 
vated, uniformly smooth, and cultivated. As we 
approached Chantaboun, the margin of the river 
was most charmingly graced with clumps of the 
bamboo, and several fields were bounded with the 
same tree. We passed not far from the foot of the 
lofty mountain Sah Bap, from which point we 
could also see several other mountains. The top 
of one was lost in the clouds. Near Chantaboun 
the river is quite lined on one side with Siamese 
war-junks on the stocks. The reigning passion of 
the government at present is to make preparations 
in this section of their country for defence against 
the Cochin-Chinese, and for aggressions against the 
same if need be. 

“ We reached Chantaboun at two, P.M. The 
natives discovering us as we drew near their place, 
congregated by scores on the banks of the river to 


FROM BANGKOK 7 0 CUANTABOUN. 


213 


look at us. They were exceedingly excited, the 
children particularly, and scarcely knew how to 
contain themselves. Some ran with all their might 
to proclaim in the most animated manner to the in¬ 
habitants ahead that we were coming. Others 
jumped up and down, laughing and hallooing most 
merrily. We preferred to pass up the river to the 
extreme end of the town, before we landed, that in 
coming down by land we might form some estimate 
of the amount of the inhabitants. The town is 
situated on both sides of the stream, which is pro¬ 
bably eighty yards wide. As we passed along we 
observed one of the most pleasant situations occu¬ 
pied by a Roman Catholic chapel. Its appearance, 
together with some peculiarities in the inhabitants, 
led us to think that the Catholics had got a strong 
foothold here. We saw only four Siamese priests, 
and no temples. The houses on the river were 
built principally of bamboo and attap. They were 
small, elevated five or six feet above the ground, 
and wore the aspect of old age. The ground on 
which the town is situated rises gently from the 
river, and is a dry and sandy loam. There were a 
number of middling-sized junks lying in the river, 
which proves that the stream is sufficiently deep to 
admit of the passage of such craft. 

“ Having reached the farthest extremity of the 
place, we landed and walked down the principal 
street. We were thronged with wondering multi¬ 
tudes, who were Cochin, Tachu, and Hokien-Chi- 
nese, with only here and there a Siamese. The in¬ 
habitants looked healthy, and were more perfectly 


214 


SIAM. 


dressed than we usually observe in heathen villa¬ 
ges in this climate. The day being far spent we 
could not prolong our stay more than one hour. 
When we got into our boat to return, the people 
literally surrounded us, although it was in the wa¬ 
ter. Some stood in the river waist-deep to get a 
look at the lady of the party, and petitioned that 
she should rise from her seat, that they might see 
how tall she was. As we pushed out into the river 
the multitudes shouted most heartily. There can¬ 
not be less than 8,000 or 10,000 souls in Chanta- 
boun, and probably thousands in the immediate vi¬ 
cinity. 

“ On our return we stopped at Luang Nai Sit’s, 
and spent an hour or more. In looking about the 
premises we heedlessly entered a large bamboo 
house, where to our surprise we saw a monster of 
an elephant, and his excellency, the p’rak’lang, who 
beckoned to us to enter, and directed us to seats. 
We learned that this elephant was denominated 
white, and seemed to be an object of great relig¬ 
ious veneration. He was as far from being white 
as black. There appeared to be a little white pow¬ 
der sprinkled upon his back. He was fastened to 
a post, and a man was feeding him with paddy- 
grass. 

“ All the days that we have been in this place 
have been very uncomfortably cold. We have not 
only wanted winter clothes, but have found our¬ 
selves most comfortable when wrapped up in our 
cloaks till the middle and sometimes till after the 
middle of the day. The natives shiver like the as- 


FROM BANGKOK TO CHANTABO UN. 


215 


pen leaf, and they act much as an American in the 
coldest winter day. The northeast monsoon sweeps 
over the mountains, and I think produces a cur * 
rent downward from that high and cool region of 
air, which retains nearly its temperature till after it 
has passed this place. 

“ It seems that there are a great number of set¬ 
tlements, within the circumference of a few miles, as 
large as Bang Ka Chah ; that the country is admi¬ 
rably watered by three rivers ; and that the soil is 
rich and peculiarly adapted to the growth of pep¬ 
per, of which large quantities are raised. There is 
a small mountain near by, where it is said diamonds 
are procured. At Bang 'Ka Chah there is a re¬ 
markable cave in a mountain. The country inter¬ 
vening between Bang Ka Chah and Thamai is un¬ 
der a high state of cultivation, being almost exclu¬ 
sively occupied by Chinamen, who cultivate rice, 
tobacco, pepper, etc. The face of the country is 
pleasantly undulated. Thamai contains 400 or 500 
souls, chiefly Chinese. Nung Boah lies east from 
this place about four miles by the course of the 
river. It is not a condensed settlement, but an ag¬ 
ricultural and horticultural district, with thirty or 
forty dwellings, perhaps, on every square mile. It 
is situated on a large plain, a little distance from 
the foot of the mount Sah Bap. Not more than a 
quarter of the land is cultivated, while the remain¬ 
der is covered with small and scrubby junglewood. 
Multitudes of charming flowers lined both sides of 
the paths as we walked from one farm to another ; 
and many a bird was seen of beautiful plumage and 


216 


SIAM. 


some of pleasant note. The graceful tops of cocoa- 
nut trees we found a never-failing sign of a human 
dwelling, and sometimes of a cluster of them. 
The land is almost wholly occupied by Tachu-Chi- 
nese ; a few of them have Siamese wives ; the re¬ 
mainder are single men. They cultivate but small 
portions of land, which they bring under a high 
state of improvement. They raise chiefly sugar¬ 
cane, pepper, and tobacco. The soil, being a rich 
loam, is well adapted to the culture of these arti¬ 
cles, as well as of a great variety of horticultural 
plants. 

“We have continued our surveys to the southeast 
of this place, and visited Plieoo, a settlement south 
of Nung Boah. We left our boat at Barn-Chow- 
kow, which is a settlement of Siamese, consisting 
of about sixty families living in a very rural, and, 
for a Siamese, a very comfortable style, in the 
midst of groves of cocoa-nuts, interspersed with 
many a venerable jungle-tree. On either side of a 
gentle elevation on which their houses are scattered 
along a line of half a mile, are rice-fields far sur¬ 
passing in excellence any I had before seen. The 
grain was nearly all out, and a large proportion of 
it gathered. They need no barns, and therefore 
have none. At this season of the year they have 
no rains to trouble them. The rice is threshed by 
buffaloes. All the preparation that is necessary for 
this is to smooth and harden a circle of ground 30 
feet in diameter, and set a post in its centre. • Si¬ 
amese carts have wheels not less than twenty-five 
feet in circumference, set four or five feet apart, 


FROM BANGKOK TO CHANTABOUN. 


217 


with a small rack in which the sheaves are placed. 
These are drawn by a yoke of buffaloes. The 
person who loads the cart, guides the team by 
means of ropes, which are fastened to the septem 
of their nostrils by hooks. 

“ At Plieoo we first went into a blacksmith’s 
shop, where four Chinamen were employed. The 
master was very polite and did all he could think of 
to make us comfortable. He prepared his couch 
for us to rest upon, got us a cup of tea, etc. We 
gave him one of the histories of Christ, for which 
he was abundantly thankful. We next went to the 
market, where we disposed of a few books. Enter¬ 
ing into the house of a Chinaman, we were sur¬ 
prised to find three Siamese priests. The master 
of the house had prepared a very neat dinner for 
one of his clerical guests, and was just in the act 
of sitting down on the floor to eat, as we entered. 
There was a frown on his brow as he saw us ap¬ 
proach. Although he could read, he utterly refused 
to receive a tract. Being much in want of some 
refreshment, I proposed that he should let me have 
a dish of rice. He refused. I still pleaded for a 
little ; but he was determined that I should not be 
fed from the same table with his priest. After a 
little time we returned to our good friend the black¬ 
smith, and merely suggested to fiim our want of 
food. The aged hospitable man seemed very hap¬ 
py that he could have an opportunity to render us 
such kindness, and hastened to prepare us a dinner. 
He went himself to market and purchased a varie¬ 
ty of articles for our comfort. The table was soon 


218 


SIAM. 


well supplied with rice, eggs, greens, and various 
nameless Chinese nick-nacks. 

“ In the village of Plieoo there are only a few 
hundred souls, who are mostly Tachu-Chinese, and 
cannot read. Their wives are Siamese. We con¬ 
clude, from what we were able to learn, that the vi¬ 
cinity is densely populated.” 

The voyage back to Bangkok was comfortably 
made in a small jank furnished by Luang Nai Sit, 
and in company with his brother-in-law, an agree¬ 
able and intelligent Siamese. Dr. Bradley continues : 

“We have in tow an elegant boat, designed 
probably for some one of the nobles at Bang¬ 
kok. It was manufactured at Semetgaam. The 
Siamese possess superior skill in making these 
boats. They have the very best materials the 
world can afford for such purposes. The boats 
consist generally of but one piece. 

“ A large tree is taken and scooped out in the 
form of a trough. By some process, I know not 
what, the sides are then sprung outward, which 
draws the extremities into a beautiful curve up¬ 
ward. After this is done, the boat is admirably 
wrought and trimmed. The one we have in tow 
is about sixty feet in length and five in breath. 
Compared with many, it is quite small. I have 
seen not a few that were nearly a hundred feet long 
and from six to eight feet wide, made in the way 
I have above described. 

“ [Not long after the above was written, the writer 
learned that these boats are swelled out in their 
midships by means of fire, and that the curves of 


FROM BANGKOK TO CHANTABOUN. 


219 


their bows and sterns are increased bj means of 
pieces of the same kind of timber so neatly fitted 
and firmly joined as to appear on a distant exam¬ 
ination to be a continuation of the body of the 
boat. 

“ On the morning of December 16th, we were pas¬ 
sing between Koh Samet and Sem Yah. After we 
passed this our course lay west-northwest to an¬ 
other cape called Sah Wa Larn. The wind was 
favorable but light, and we were becalmed in the 
heat of the day four hours or more. The heat 
was excessively oppressive. No shade on deck and 
my cabin a small place, not large enough to admit 
of my standing upright. Our vessel has been rowed 
much of the afternoon for the want of wind. Cast 
anchor just at evening a little east of Sah Wa 
Larn, having made less than twenty miles during 
the day. The coast about Lem Sing is very pic¬ 
turesque. West of this, till you come to Sah Wa 
Larn, it is uniformly level. The land appears to be 
entirely uncultivated. The forests are composed of 
large timber, their tops presenting a very uniform 
surface. I have much cause for gratitude to God 
that I find in my companion, Soot Chin Dah, a very 
attentive friend. He is desirous to render me all 
the assistance he can in acquiring the Siamese 
language, in which I hope I am making some 
proficiency by engaging with him in conversation. 

“ The scene between Koh Arat and Koh Yai, in 
the midst of which we were at anchor the next 
morning, is most charming. The distance from 
one to the other is about one mile. Arat is a small 


220 


SIAM. 


island rising very abruptly many hundred feet above 
the sea. At the top is a rock of a conical form, 
which seems on the point of rolling down with a 
tremendous crash into the sea. Koh Yai is a much 
larger island, and hence its name. A little before us 
was the cape Samaasarn, shielded against the sea by 
immense white rocks. Just as the sun was rising, 
Soot Chin Dali invited me to accompany him to 
Koh Yai for a morning exercise. Our fine boat was 
manned with nineteen men, and we went off in 
princely style. We coasted some distance and then 
landed; whence we walked a long way, first on a 
sandy beach, and then among rocks composed of 
marine shells interlaid with coral and shells of in¬ 
finite variety. The land was all one unbroken 
jungle. Much of the small timber was of a thorny 
kind, which seemed to bid defiance to human in¬ 
vasion. Our men were chiefly engaged in picking 
up shells suitable for gambling purposes. On our 
return we touched at Arat, where I amused myself 
a little time in climbing around craggy and stu¬ 
pendous rocks. After two hours we returned to 
our junk well prepared for breakfast. The hired 
cook, which Luang Nai Sit [the present Regent] 
had the goodness to provide for me, had my food 
all ready, consisting of a broiled chicken, salt and 
fresh eggs, and rice with tea. Soot Chin Dah eats 
by himself, sometimes in one place and sometimes 
in another. His food is very neatly served for him 
in a circular wooden tray. It is prepared by a 
Portuguese cook, and served by his inferior brother. 
When he is done eating, his brother, serang, assis- 


FROM BANGKOK TO CHANTABOTJN. 


221 


tant serang, and cook eat of the remainder, sitting 
on the deck. They use neither knife, fork, nor 
spoon, their fingers serving the purposes of these 
instruments. The helmsman and his mate, who 
are masters of the junk and c.ountry-born Portu¬ 
guese, eat by themselves in the style of the Siamese. 
The crew clan together in eating according to their 
nameless distinctions. Their main dependence is 
rice and fish. The former they eat out of the bark 
of a plantain tree rolled up at the sides and one 
end in the shape of a scoop shovel, or out of a 
most filthy-looking basket or cocoa-nut shell. There 
are three females on board who eat in the hold, 
where they remain almost constantly from morning 
to night. In the evening they come out to enjoy 
the fresh air, and have a most voluble chat with the 
men. 

“ About noon we anchored close to the shore of 
Sem Poo Chow, which is an abrupt and lofty promon¬ 
tory. Here three wild hogs made their appearance. 
Having looked upon us a few minutes they dis¬ 
appeared. It seemed wonderful that they could 
inhabit such a bluff, for a misstep would plunge 
them into the abyss below. 

“ On the evening of the 19th, our captain ordered 
the anchor to be dropped, as we were on the bar at 
the mouth of the Meinam River, eight or ten miles 
from Paknam. We have had a good view of every 
mile of the coast along which we have passed to-day, 
and I may with but little qualification say the same 
of all the coast between this and Chantaboun. The 
coast north of Bangplasoi is low, without so much 


222 


SIAM. 


as a rock or hill to break the evenness of the jungle. 
We saw distinctly the entrance of Bangpakong Ri¬ 
ver, its mouth appearing as large as that of the 
Meinam. I have spent much of this day in fin¬ 
ishing charts of Chantaboun and the coast from 
thence to Paknam. 

Concerning the provinces adjacent to Chantaboun, 
Sir John Bowring makes the following statements : 

“ To the north of Chantaburi, (which means the 
nutmeg country,) stretching towards the east, is a 
range of mountains forming an almost circular bar¬ 
rier, whose defiles are guarded by a tribe called 
Xong , who carefully exclude all visitors that are ob¬ 
jects of distrust. The tribe recognizes a chief, 
whose authority is said to be absolute. Crimes are 
rare, but are punished with extreme severity. 

“ The Xong , or Chong , are reported to have had 
theii origin in migrations from the Kareens, and a 
variety of fugitives from various neighboring States, 
seeking an asylum in regions so difficult to pene¬ 
trate. 

“ The dress of the men consists of a cotton cloth 
simply tied round the waist; that of the women, of 
a coarse petticoat, with various colored stripes. 
They are accused of poisoning the wells and foun¬ 
tains on their frontiers, so as to prevent the influx 
of strangers. They supply the market of Chanta¬ 
buri with forest woods, gutta-percha, wax, carda¬ 
moms, pitch, resins, and eagle-wood, which they 
bring when the river is flooded, and exchange prin¬ 
cipally for iron ware, salt, kapi, and objects of pri¬ 
mary necessity. 


F ROM BANGKOK TO CHANTABOUN. 


223 


“ The collection of wax exposes them to many 
clangers. The wild bees, which are of gigantic 
size, usually build their cells on the top branches of 
a colossal tree, at the height of 150 feet. The bees 
take flight, having been driven away by large and 
smoky fires, kindled at the foot of the trees; and 
the next day, the Xong mount these trees by driv¬ 
ing into the trunk blades of hard wood, which they 
mount by standing on one while they force another 
with their hands into the trunk above. Before at¬ 
tempting to ascend, they offer up a sacrifice to the 
genius of the place; and having approached the 
combs, they loosen them with a long and light bam¬ 
boo, which causes them to fall to the ground. 

“ Pitch is collected by cutting a deep hole at the 
foot of the tree, in the shape of an oven ; a fire is 
kindled, but not allowed to burn long, and the Xong 
collect the pitch as it exudes from day to day. Its 
quality is much valued ; mixed with resin, it is em¬ 
ployed for ships, and in its liquid state for painting. 
Torches are manufactured by digging a hole in the 
ground, into which pieces of rotten wood are thrown, 
and pitch being poured in, a thick paste is made 
and moulded by the hand. It is then enveloped in 
long leaves, and being cased in bark, rattan threads 
tie the whole compactly together. 

“ Pallegoix says that a great quantity of precious 
stones are collected in the neighborhood of the Sa¬ 
bah mountain, and that they are. found still more 
abundantly on the frontiers of the Xong tribes, 
where they are gathered by the peasantry, who sell 
the whole at prices varying from sixteen to sixty 


224 


SIAM. 


francs per pound. Among the stones so collected, 
the governor of Chantaboun showed him rock-crys¬ 
tals, cat’s eyes as large as a nut, topazes, hyacinths, 
quartz, sapphires of deep blue, and rubies of various 
colors. The bishop says that, in wandering through 
the Chantaboun mountains, they collected in an hour 
two handfuls of precious stones. There are certain 
localities in which the king forbids their collection, 
except on his own account.” 


CHAPTER XIY. 


mouhot’s visit to chan baboon and the islands 

OF THE GULF. 

INCE the date of the missionary journey re- 



kj corded in the last chapter, Chantaboun has 
come to be a place of considerable commercial im¬ 
portance, being, without much doubt, the second 
port in the kingdom. There is a custom-house at 
the entrance of the Chantaburi River, and “ a con¬ 
siderable trade,” says Bowring, “ is carried on, prin¬ 
cipally with Cochin China, and by the Cochin Chi¬ 
nese, among whom the Catholic missionaries claim 
about one thousand as their converts. Chantaburi 
has six thousand inhabitants—Siamese, Chinese, 
and Cochin Chinese. There is a public market¬ 
place, a manufactory of arrack, and many pagodas. 
In consequence of the cheapness of wood, and the 
facility of conveying it down the river, the building 
of ships is generally in a state of activity. About 
a dozen ships come annually from China, with the 
produce of that country ; and they carry away pep¬ 
per, cardamoms, gamboge, eagle-wood, hides, ivory,* 
sugar, wax, tobacco, salt fish, and other commodities. 


226 


SIAM. 


which are &lso shipped to the straits settlements. 
There is much cultivation in the neighborhood of 
the town, and the fruits of the field and the garden 
are various and excellent. The planting of coffee 
has lately been introduced, and the quality is said 
to be good. 

“ The inhabitants of the forests of Chantaburi are 
accustomed to chase the wild beasts with fire-arms 
and nets; but they attack the rhinoceros armed 
with solid bamboos, of which one end has been 
hardened by exposure to the fire and sharpened; 
they incite the animal, by loud cries and clapping 
their hands, to meet them, which lie is wont to do 
by rushing violently upon them, opening and clos¬ 
ing his wide mouth ; they attack him in front, and 
drive the bamboos violently into his throat with sur¬ 
prising dexterity, taking flight on all sides. The 
animal in his agony throws himself on the ground, 
and becoming exhausted by the effusion of blood 
and the extremity of his suffering, he soon becomes 
the prey of his courageous assailants. All the pas¬ 
sages to a district are sometimes closed with nets, 
and fire being applied to the jungle, the wild ani¬ 
mals are destroyed as they seek to escape.” 

Mouhot describes his voyage to Chantaboun, and 
his experience among the islands of the gulf, as 
follows : 

“ My intention now was to visit Cambodia, but 
for this my little river boat was of no use. The 
only way of going to Chantaboun was by embark¬ 
ing in one of the small Chinese junks or fishing ves¬ 
sels, which I accordingly did on the 28th of Decern- 


PORT OF CHANTABOUN. 



'4 






















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































MOUHOTS TRAVELS. 


227 


ber, taking with me a new servant, called Niou, a 
native of Annam, and who, having been brought up 
at the college of the Catholic priests at Bangkok, 
knew French well enough to be very useful to me as 
an interpreter. The boat was inconveniently small, 
and w r e were far from comfortable ; for, besides my¬ 
self and servant, there were on board two men and 
two children about thirteen. I was much pleased 
with the picturesque aspect of all the little islands 
in the gulf; but our voyage was far longer than we 
expected, three days being its usual duration, while, 
owing to a strong head-wind, it occupied us for 
eight. We met with an accident which was fatal 
to one of our party, and might have been so to all 
of us. On the night of the 31st December, our 
boat was making rapid way under the influence of a 
violent wind. I was seated on the little roof of 
leaves and interlaced bamboo, which formed a sort 
of protection to me against the rain and cold night 
air, bidding adieu to the departing year, and wel¬ 
coming in the new ; praying that it might be a for¬ 
tunate one for me, and, above all, that it might be 
full of blessings for all those dear to me. The night 
was dark; we were but two miles from land, and 
the mountains loomed black in the distance. The 
sea alone was brilliant with that phosphoric light so 
familiar to all voyagers on the deep. For a couple 
of hours we had been followed by two sharks, who 
left behind them a luminous and waving track. All 
was silent in our boat; nothing was to be heard but 
the wind whistling among the rigging and the rush¬ 
ing of the waves : and I felt at that midnight hour 


228 


SIAM. 


—alone, and far from all I loved—a sadness which 
I vainly tried to shake off, and a disquietude which 
I could not account for. Suddenly we felt a violent 
shock, immediately followed by a second, and then 
the vessel remained stationary. Every one cried 
out in alarm ; the sailors rushed forward ; in a mo¬ 
ment the sail was furled and torches lighted, but, 
sad to say, one of our number did not answer to 
his name. One of the young boys, who had been 
asleep on deck, had been thrown into the sea by 
the shock. Uselessly we looked for the poor lad, 
whose body doubtless became the prey of the 
sharks. Fortunately for us, only one side of the 
boat had touched the rock, and it had then run 
aground on the sand : so that after getting it off we 
were able to anchor not far from the shore. 

“ On the 3rd January, 1859, after having crossed 
the little gulf of Chantaboun, the sea being at the 
time very rough, we came in sight of the famous 
Lion Rock, which stands out like the extremity of a 
cape at the entrance of this port. From a distance 
it resembles a lion couch ant, and it is difficult to be¬ 
lieve that Nature unassisted has formed this singu¬ 
lar colossus. The Siamese—a superstitious race— 
hold this stone in great veneration, as they do every¬ 
thing that appears to them extraordinary or marvel¬ 
lous. It is said that the captain of an English ship, 
once anchored in the port, seeing the lion, proposed 
to buy it, and that, on the governor of the place re¬ 
fusing the offer, he pitilessly fired all his guns at the 
poor animal. This has been recorded in Siamese 


MOimOTS TRAVELS. 


229 


verse, with a touching complaint against the cruelty 
of the Western barbarians. 

“ On the 4th January, at eight o’clock in the 
morning, we arrived at the town of Chantaboun, 
which stands on the bank of the river, six or seven 
miles from the mountain range. The Christian An- 
namites form nearly a third of the population, the 
remainder being composed of Chinese merchants, 
and some heathen Annamites and Siamese. The 
Annamites are all fishers, who originally came from 
Cochin China to fish in the northern part of the 
Gulf of Siam, and settled at the Chantaboun. 
Every day, while the cold weather lasts, and the sea 
is not too rough, they cast their nets in the little 
bays on the coast, or in the sheltered water among 
the islands. 

“ The commerce of this province is inconsiderable, 

’ compared with what it might be from its situation ; 
but the numerous taxes, the grinding exactions of 
the chiefs, and the usury of the mandarins, added 
to the hateful system of slavery, keep the bulk of 
the people in a ruinous state of prostration. How¬ 
ever, in spite of a scanty population, they manage 
to export to Bangkok a great quantity of pepper, 
chiefly cultivated by the Chinese at the foot of the 
mountains; a little sugar and coffee of superior 
quality ; mats made of rushes, which meet with a 
ready sale in China; tobacco, great quantities of 
salted and dried fish, dried leeches, and tortoise¬ 
shell. Every Siamese subject, on attaining a cer¬ 
tain height, has to pay to government an impost or 
annual tribute equivalent to six ticals (eighteen 


francs). The Annamites of Chantaboun pay this in 
eagle-wood, and the Siamese in gamboge ; the Chi¬ 
nese in gum-lac, every four years, and their tribute 
amounts to four ticals. At the close of the rainy 
season, the Annamite Christians unite in parties of 
fifteen or twenty, and set out under the conduct of 
an experienced man, who heads the expedition, and 
indicates to the others the trees which contain the 
eagle-wood ; for all are not equally skilled in dis¬ 
tinguishing those which produce it; a degree of ex¬ 
perience is requisite for this, which can only be ac¬ 
quired by time, and thus much useless and painful 
labor is avoided. Some remain in the mountains, 
others visit the large islands of Ko-Xang or Ko- 
Khut, situated southeast of Chantaboun. The 
eagle-wood is hard and speckled, and diffuses a 
powerful aromatic odor when burnt. It is used at 
the incremation of the bodies of princes and high 
dignitaries, which are previously kept in the coffins 
for a twelvemonth. The Siamese also employ it as 
a medicine. The wood of the tree which yields it 
—the Aquilaria Agalloclia of Roxburgh—is white, 
and very soft; and the trunk must be cut down, or 
split in two, to find the eagle-wood, which is in the 
interior. The Annamites make a kind of secret of 
the indications by which they fix upon the right 
trees, but the few instructions given me put me on 
the right track. I had several cut down, and the 
result of my observations was, that this substance 
is formed in the cavities of the trees, and that as 
they grow older it increases in quantity. Its pre¬ 
sence may be pretty surely ascertained by the pe- 


MOUHOT'8 TRAVELS. 


231 


culiar odor emitted, and the hollow sound given out 
on striking the trunk. 

“ Most of the Chinese merchants are addicted to 
gambling, and to the use of opium ; but the An- 
namite Christians are better conducted. The na¬ 
ture of these Annamites is very different from that 
of the Siamese, who are an effeminate and indolent 
race, but liberal and hospitable, simple-minded, and 
without pride. The Annamites are short in stature, 
and thin, lively, and active ; they are choleric and 
vindictive, and extremely proud; even among re¬ 
lations there is continual strife and jealousy. The 
poor and the wretched meet with no commiseration, 
but great respect is accorded to wealth. However, 
the attachment of the Christians to their priests 
and missionaries is very great, and they do not hesi¬ 
tate to expose themselves to any dangers in their 
behalf. I must likewise own that, in all my dealings 
with the pagan Annamites, whose reverence for their 
ancestors induces them to hold fast their idolatry, I 
experienced generosity and kindness from them, both 
at Cliantaboun and in the islands. 

“ The missionaries at Bangkok having given me 
a letter of introduction to their fellow-laborer at 
Chantaboun, I had the pleasure of making acquaint¬ 
ance with the worthy man, who received me with 
great cordiality, and placed at my disposal a room 
in his modest habitation. The good father has re¬ 
sided for more than twenty years at Chantaboun, 
with the Annamites whom he has baptized, content 
and happv amidst indigence and solitude. I found 
him, on my arrival, at the height of felicity ; a new 


232 


SIAM. 


brick chapel, which had been for some time in course 
of construction, and the funds required for which 
had been saved out of his modest income,-was 
rapidly progressing, and promised soon to replace 
the wooden building in which he then officiated. I 
passed sixteen days very agreeably with him, some¬ 
times hunting on Mount Sabab, at other times mak¬ 
ing excursions on the rivers and canals. The coun¬ 
try greatly resembles the province of Pakpriau, the 
plain being, perhaps, still more desert and unculti¬ 
vated; but at the foot of the mountains, and in 
some of the delightful valleys, pepper is grown in 
some quantity by the Chinese. 

“ I bought for twenty-five ticals a small boat to 
enable me to visit the isles of the gulf. The first I 
landed at was named Konam-sao ; it is in the form 
of a cone, and nearly 250 metres * in height, but 
only two miles in circumference. Like all the other 
islands in this part of the gulf, it is of volcanic 
origin. The rocks which surround it make the ac¬ 
cess difficult; but the effect produced by the rich¬ 
ness and bright green of the vegetation is charming. 
The dry season, so agreeable for European travel¬ 
ling, from the freshness of the nights and mornings, 
is in Siam a time of stagnation and death for all 
nature ; the birds fly to the neighborhood of houses, 
or to the banks of the rivers, which furnish them 
with nourishment; rarely does their song come to 
enchant the listener; and the fishing-eagle alone 
utters his hoarse and piercing cry every time the 


A metre is equivalent to 3 feet 3i inches. 



MOV HOTS TRAVELS. 


233 


wind changes. Ants swarm everywhere, and appear 
to be, with the mosquitoes and crickets, the only 
insects that have escaped destruction. 

“ Nowhere did I find in these- islands the slight¬ 
est trace of path or stream ; and it was extremely 
difficult to advance at all through the masses of 
wild vines and interwoven branches. I was forced 
to make my way, hatchet in hand, and returned at 
night exhausted with the heat and fatigue. 

“ The greater portion of the rocks in the elevat¬ 
ed parts of these islands is elementary, and pre¬ 
serves traces of their ancient deposit beneath the 
waters. They have, however, undergone consider¬ 
able volcanic changes, and contain a number of 
veins and irregular deposits of the class known as 
contact deposits, that are formed near the junction 
of stratified rocks with intruded igneous masses. 

“ On the 26th we set sail for the first of the Ko- 
Man Islands, for there are three, situated close to¬ 
gether, bearing this name. The largest is only 
twelve miles from the coast. Some fishing-eagles, 
a few black doves, and a kind of white pigeon were 
the only winged creatures I saw. Iguanas are nu¬ 
merous, and when in the evening they come out of 
their retreats, they make such a noise in walking 
heavily over the dead leaves and branches, that one 
might suppose it caused by animals of a much lar¬ 
ger size. 

“ Toward evening, the tide having fallen, I al¬ 
lowed my boat to ground on the mud, which I had 
remarked during the day to be like a peat-bog im¬ 
pregnated with volcanic matter ; and during the 


234 


SIAM. 


whole night so strong a sulphurous odor escaped 
from it, that I imagined myself to be over a sub¬ 
marine volcano. 

“ On the 28 th we passed on to the second island, 
which is higher and more picturesque than the 
other. The rocks which surround it give it a mag¬ 
nificent effect, especially in a bright sunlight, when 
the tide is low. The isles of the Patates owe their 
name to the numerous wild tubers found there. 

“ I passed several days at Cape Liaut, part of 
the time being occupied in exploring the many ad¬ 
jacent islands. It is the most exquisite part of the 
gulf, and will bear comparison, for its beauty, with 
the Strait of Sunda, near the coast of Java. Two 
years ago, when the king visited Chantaboun, they 
built for him on the shore, at the extremity of the 
cape, a house and kiosk, and, in memory of that 
event, they also erected on the top of the mountain 
a small tower, from which a very extensive view may 
be enjoyed. 

“ I also made acquaintance with Ko-Kram, the 
most beautiful and the largest of all the islands 
north of the gulf between Bangkok and Chanta¬ 
boun. The whole island consists of a wooded 
mountain-range, easy of access, and containing 
much oligist iron. On the morning of the 29th, 
at sunrise, the breeze lessened, and when we were 
about three miles from the strait which separates 
the Isle of Arec from that of the ‘ Certs,’ it ceased 
altogether. For the last half hour we were indebt¬ 
ed solely to our oars for the little progress made, 
being exposed to all the glare of a burning sun ; 


MOUEOT’S TRAVELS. 


235 


and the atmosphere was heavy and suffocating. All 
of a sudden, to my great astonishment, the water 
began to be agitated, and our light boat was tossed 
about by the waves. I knew not what to think, and 
was seriously alarmed, when our pilot called out, 

* Look how the sea boils !’ Turning in the direc¬ 
tion indicated, I beheld the sea really in a state of 
ebullition, and very shortly afterwards an immense 
jet of water and steam, which lasted for several 
minutes, was thrown into the air. I had never be¬ 
fore witnessed such a phenomenon, and was now no 
longer astonished at the powerful smell of sulphur 
which had nearly overpowered me in Ko-Man. It 
was really a submarine volcano, which bui'st out, 
more than a mile from the place where we had an¬ 
chored three days before. 

“ On March 1st we reached Yen-Yen, at Pak- 
nam-Yen, the name of the place where the branches 
of the river unite. This river, whose width at the 
mouth is above three miles, is formed by the union 
of several streams flowing from the mountains, as 
well as by an auxiliary of the Chantaboun River, 
which, serving as a canal, unites these two places. 
Ascending the stream for fourteen or fifteen miles, 
a large village is reached, called Bandiana, but 
Paknam-Yen is only inhabited by five families ot 
Chinese fishermen. 

“ Crocodiles are more numerous in the river at 
Paknam-Yen than in that at Chantaboun. I con¬ 
tinually saw them throw themselves from the banks 
into the water : and it has frequently happened 
that careless fishers, or persons who have impru- 


236 


SIAM. 


dently fallen asleep on the shore, have become their 
prey, or have afterwards died of the wounds inflict¬ 
ed by them. This latter has happened twice dur¬ 
ing my stay here. It is amusing, however—for one 
is interested in observing the habits of animals all 
over the world—to see the manner in which these 
creatures catch the apes, which sometimes take a 
fancy to .play with them. Close to the bank lies 
the crocodile, his body in the water, and only his 
capacious mouth above the surface, ready to seize 
anything that may come within reach. A troop of 
apes catch sight of him, seem to consult together, 
approach little by little, and commence their frolics, 
by turns actors and spectators. One of the most 
active or most impudent jumps from branch to 
branch, till within a respectful distance of the croc¬ 
odile, when, hanging by one claw, and with the dex¬ 
terity peculiar to these animals, he advances and re¬ 
tires, now giving his enemy a blow with his paw, at 
another time only pretending to do so. The other 
apes, enjoying the fun, evidently wish to take a part 
in it ; but the other branches being too high, they 
form a sort of chain by laying hold of each other’s 
paws, and thus swing backwards and forwards, 
while any one of them who comes within reach of 
the crocodile torments him to the best of his abili¬ 
ty. Sometimes the terrible jaws suddenly close, but 
not upon the audacious ape, who just escapes ; then 
there are cries of exultation from the tormentors, 
who gambol about joyfully. Occasionally, however, 
the claw is entrapped, and the victim dragged with 
the rapidity of lightning beneath the water, when 



MONKEYS PLAYING WITH A CROCODILE 





















































♦ 







































r - • 





















































MOUHOT’S TRAVELS. 


237 


the whole troop disperse, groaning and shrieking. 
The misadventure does not, however, prevent their 
recommencing the game a few days afterwards. 

“ On the 4th I returned to Chantaboun from my 
excursions in the gulf, and resumed charge of my 
collections, which, during my absence, I had left 
at the custom-house, and which, to my great satis¬ 
faction, had been taken good care of. The tide was 
low, and we could not go up to the town. The sea 
here is steadily receding from the coast, and, if some 
remedy be not found, in a few years the river will 
not be navigable even for boats. Already the junks 
have some trouble in reaching Chantaboun even at 
high water. The inhabitants were fishing for crabs 
and mussels on the sand-banks, close to the custom¬ 
house, the employes in which were occupied in the 
same pursuit. The chief official, who, probably 
hoping for some small present, had come out to 
meet me, heard me promise a supply of pins and 
needles to those who would bring me shells, and 
encouraged his men to look for them. In conse¬ 
quence, a large number were brought me, which, 
to obtain otherwise, would have cost much time 
and trouble.” 


CHAPTER XY. 


MOUHOT IN THE HILL-COUNTRY OF CHANTABOUN. 

H ERE I am,” continues Mouhot, in his nar¬ 
rative, “ once more installed in the house 
of a good old Chinese, a pepper-planter, whose hos¬ 
pitality I enjoyed on my first visit to the place, two 
months ago. His name is Ihie-How, but in Siam¬ 
ese he is called Apait, which means unde . He is a 
widower, with two sons, the eldest eighteen, a good 
young man, lively, hard-working, brave, and perse¬ 
vering. He is already much attached to me, and is 
desirous of accompanying me to Cambodia. Born 
amidst the mountains, and naturally intelligent, 
there are none of the quadrupeds and few of the 
feathered tribes found in the district with whose 
habits he is not familiar. He fears neither tiger nor 
elephant. All this, added to his amiable disposition, 
made Phrai (that is his name) a real treasure to 
me. 

“ Apait has also two brothers who have become 
Catholics, and have settled at Chantaboun in order 
to be near a Christian place of worship. He him¬ 
self has never had any desire to change his religion, 


MO UIIO T’S TEA VELS. 


239 


because, lie says, if he did, he must forget his de¬ 
ceased parents, for whom he frequently offers sacri¬ 
fices. He is badly off, having incurred a debt of 
fifty ticals, for which he has to pay ten as yearly 
interest, the rate in Siam being always twenty or 
thirty per cent. Besides this he has various taxes 
to pay—twelve ticals for his two sons, four for his 
house, one for his furnace, one for his pig. The tax 
on the pepper-field is eight ticals, one on his areca- 
trees, one on the betel cultivated by him, and two 
sellungs for a cocoa-tree, altogether thirty-nine 
ticals. His land brings him in forty after all ex¬ 
penses are paid ; what can he do with the one re¬ 
maining tical ? The unlucky agriculturists of this * 
kind, and they are many, live on vegetables, and on 
the rice which they obtain from the Siamese in ex¬ 
change for areca. 

“ On my return from the islands, I had been de¬ 
tained nearly ten days at Chantaboun, unable to 
walk ; I had cut my heel in climbing the rocks on 
the shore at Ko-Man, and, as I was constantly bare¬ 
footed in the salt water, the wound soon closed. 
But afterwards I began to suffer from it; my foot 
swelled, and I was obliged to re-open the wound to 
extract a piece of shell which had remained in it. 
As soon as I could leave Chantaboun, I hired a 
carriage and two buffaloes to take me to the moun¬ 
tain. I experienced much gratification in finding 
myself again amongst these quiet scenes, at once so 
lovely and so full of grandeur. Here are valleys 
intersected by streams of pure and limpid water; 
there, small plains, over which are scattered the 


240 


SIAM. 


modest dwellings of the laborious Chinese; while, 
a little in the distance, rises the mountain, with 
its imposing rocks, its grand trees, its torrents 
and waterfalls. 

“We have already had some storms, for the rainy 
season is approaching, vegetation is fresh, and na¬ 
ture animated; the song of birds and the hum of 
insects are heard all around. Apait has resigned 
to me his bed, if that can be so styled, which conists 
merely of a few laths of areca placed upon four 
stakes. I have extended my mat upon this frame¬ 
work, and should enjoy uninterrupted sleep all night 
were it not for the swarms of ants which frequently 
disturb me'by passing over my body, getting under 
my clothes and into my beard, and, I almost fancy, 
would end by dragging me out, if I did not from 
time to time shake them off. Occasionally great 
spiders and other disgusting creatures, crawling 
about under the roof, would startle me by dropping 
suddenly on my face. 

“ The heat now is quite endurable, the thermo¬ 
meter generally marking 80° Fahr. in the morning 
and 90° in the middle of the day. The water of 
the streams is so cool and refreshing, that a good 
morning and evening ablution makes me comfort¬ 
able for several hours, as well as contributing to 
keep me in health. 

“ Last evening Phrai, having gone along with my 
man Niou to Chantaboun to buy provisions, brought 
back to his father some Chinese bonbons, for which 
he had paid half a fuang. The poor old man was 
delighted with them, and this morning at daybreak 


MOUHOrS TRAVELS. 


241 


he dressed himself in his best clothes, on which I 
asked him what was going to happen. He immedi¬ 
ately began to clean a plank which was fitted into 
the wall to serve as a sort of table or altar. Above 
this was a drawing of a man dancing and putting 
out his tongue, with claws on his feet and hands, 
and with the tail of an ape, intended to represent 
his father. He then filled three small cups with tea, 
put the bonbons in a fourth, and placed the whole 
upon the simple altar ; finally, lighting two pieces 
of odoriferous wood, he began his devotions. It 
w r as a sacrifice to the manes of his parents, per¬ 
formed with the hope that their souls would come 
and taste the good things set before them. 

“ At the entrance of Apait’s garden, in front of 
his house, I had made a kind of shed with stakes 
and branches of trees, covered with a roof of leaves, 
where I dried and prepared my large specimens, 
such as the long-armed apes, kids, and horn-bills, 
as also my collections of insects. All this has at¬ 
tracted a crowd of inquisitive Siamese and China¬ 
men, who came to see the “ farang ” and admire 
his curiosities. We have just passed the Chinese 
New Year’s-day, and, as there has been a fete for 
three days, all those living at any distance have pro¬ 
fited by the opportunity to visit us. At times Apait’s 
house and garden have been crowded with people 
in their holiday dresses, many of whom, seeing 
my instruments, my naturalist’s case, and different 
preparations, took me for a great doctor, and 
begged for medicines. 

“ Alas ! my pretensions are not so high ; however, 


242 


SIAM. 


I treat them on the ‘ Raspail ’ system ; and a 
little box of pomade or phial of sedative water 
will perhaps be represented in some European 
museum by an insect or shell brought to me by 
these worthy people in return for the good I would 
gladly do them. 

“ It is very agreeable, after a fatiguing day’s chase 
over hills and amongst* dense forests, through w T hich 
one must cut one’s way, axe in hand, to repose in 
the evening on the good Chinaman’s bench in 
front of his house, shaded by bananas, cocoanut, 
and other trees. For the last four days a violent 
north wind, fresh in spite of the season, has been 
blowing without intermission, breaking asunder 
and tearing up by the roots some of the trees on 
the higher grounds. This is its farewell visit, for 
the southeast wind will now blow for many months. 

“ This evening everything appeared to me more 
beautiful and agreeable than usual; the stars shone 
brightly in the sky, the moon was clear. Sitting 
by Apait while his son played to me some Chi¬ 
nese airs on the bamboo flute, I thought to what 
a height of prosperity this province, even now one 
of the most interesting and flourishing in the 
country, might attain, were it wisely and intelli¬ 
gently governed, or if European colonists were to 
settle and develop its resources. Proximity to the 
sea, facility of communication, a rich soil, a heal¬ 
thy and propitious climate ; nothing is wanting t r 
ensure success to an industrious and enterprising 
agriculturist. 

“ The worthy old Apait has at last consented 


MOUHOT'S TRAVELS. 


243 


to allow his son to enter my service, provided I 
pay him thirty ticals, half a year’s wages, in ad¬ 
vance. This will enable him, if he can sell his 
house and pepper-field, to clear off his debt and re¬ 
tire to another part of the mountain. Phrai is de¬ 
lighted to attend me, and to run about the woods 
all day, and I am not less pleased with our bargain, 
for his knowledge of the country, his activity, his 
intelligence, and attachment to me, are invaluable. 

“ The heat becomes greater and greater, the ther¬ 
mometer having risen to 102° Eahr. in the shade : 
thus hunting is now a painful, and sometimes im¬ 
possible, exertion, anywhere except in the woods. 
A few days ago I took advantage of a short spell of 
cloudy, and consequently cooler weather, to visit a 
waterfall I had heard of in the almost desert district 
of Prion, twelve miles from Kombau. After reach¬ 
ing the last-named place, our course lay for about 
an hour and a half along a charming valley, nearly 
as smooth as a lawn, and as ornamental as a park. 
By and by, entering a forest, we kept by the banks 
of a stream, which, shut in between two mountains, 
and studded with blocks of granite, increases in 
size as you approach its source. Before long we 
arrived at the fall, which must be a fine spectacle in 
the rainy season. It then pours down from immense 
perpendicular rocks, forming, as it were, a circular 
peaked wall, nearly thirty metres in diameter, and 
twenty metres in height. The force of the torrent 
having been broken by the rocky bed into which it 
descends, there is another fall of ten feet; and 
lower down, after a third fall of fifteen feet, it 


244 


SIAM. 


passes into an ample basin, which, like a mirror, re¬ 
flects the trees and cliffs around. Even during the 
dry season, the spring, then running from beneath 
enormous blocks of granite, flows in such abund¬ 
ance as to feed several streams. 

“ I was astonished to see my two servants, heated 
by their long walk, bathe in the cold water, and on 
my advising them to wait for a little, they replied 
that the natives were always accustomed to bathe 
when hot. 

“We all turned stone-cutters, that is to say, we 
set to work to detach the impression of an unknown 
animal, from the surface of an immense mass of 
granite rising up out of one of the mountain tor¬ 
rents. A Chinese had in January demanded so 
exorbitant a sum for this, that I had abandoned 
the idea, intending to content myself with an im¬ 
pression in wax, but Phrai proposed to me to un¬ 
dertake the work, and by our joint labor it was 
soon accomplished. The Siamese do not much 
like my meddling with their rocks, and their su¬ 
perstition is also somewhat startled when I hap¬ 
pen to kill a white ape, although when the animal 
is dead and skinned they are glad to obtain a 
cutlet or steak from it, for they attribute to the 
flesh of this creature great medicinal virtues. 

“ The rainy season is drawing near ; storms be¬ 
come more and more frequent, and the growling of 
the thunder is frightful. Insects are in greater 
numbers, and the ants, which are now looking out 
for a shelter, invade the dwellings, and are a per¬ 
fect pest to my collections, not to speak of myself 


MOUIIOT’S TRAVELS. 


245 


and mj clothes. Several of mj books and maps 
have been almost devoured in one night. Fortu¬ 
nately there are no mosquitoes, but to make up 
for this, there is a small species of leech, which, 
when it rains, quits the streams and infests the 
woods, rendering an excursion there, if not im¬ 
practicable, at all events very disagreeable. You 
have constantly to be pulling them off you by doz¬ 
ens, but, as some always escape observation, you 
are sure to return home covered with blood ; often 
my white trowsers are dyed as red as those of a 
French soldier. 

“ The animals have now become scarcer, which 
in different ways is a great disappointment to all, 
for Phrai and Niou feasted sumptuously on the 
flesh of the apes, and made a profit by selling 
their gall to the Chinese doctors in Chantaboun. 
Hornbills have also turned wild, so we can fi-nd no¬ 
thing to replenish our larder but an occasional kid. 
Large stags feed on the mountain, but one requires 
to watch all night to get within range of them. 
There are not many birds to be seen, neither quails, 
partridges, nor pheasants; and the few wild fowl 
which occasionally make their appearance are so 
difficult to shoot that it is waste both of time and 
ammunition to make the attempt. 

“ In this part of the> country the Siamese declare 
they cannot cultivate bananas on account of the ele¬ 
phants, which at certain times come down from the 
mountains and devour the leaves, of which they are 
very fond. The royal and other tigers abound here j 
every night they prowl about in the vicinity of the 


246 


SIAM. 


houses, and in the mornings we can see the print of 
their large claws in the sand and in the clay near 
streams. By day they retire to the mountain, where 
they lurk in close and inaccessible thickets. Now 
and then you may get near enough to one to have a 
shot at him, but generally, unless suffering from 
hunger, they fly at the approach of man. A few 
days ago I saw a young Chinese who had nineteen 
wounds on his body, made by one of these animals ; 
he was looking out from a tree about nine feet high, 
when the cries of a young kid, tied to another tree 
at a short distance, attracted a large tiger. The 
young man fired at it, but, though mortally wounded, 
the creature, collecting all his strength for a final 
spring, leaped on his enemy, seized him and pulled 
him down, tearing his. flesh frightfully with teeth 
and claws as they rolled on the ground. Luckily 
for the unfortunate Chinese, it was a dying effort, 
and in a few moments more the tiger relaxed its 
hold and breathed its last. 

“ In the mountains of Chantaboun, and not far 
from my present abode, precious stones of fine 
water occur. There is even at the east of the 
town an eminence, which they call ‘ the mountain 
of precious stonesand it would appear from the 
account of Mgr. Pallegoix that at one time they 
were abundant in that locality, since in about half 
an hour he picked up a handful, which is as much 
as now can be found in a twelvemonth, nor can 
they be purchased at any price. 

“ It seems that I have seriously offended the 


MOUHOTS TRAVELS. 


247 


poor Thai * of Kombau by carrying away the foot¬ 
prints. I have met several natives who tell me 
they have broken arms, that they can no longer 
work, apd will always henceforth be in poverty; 
and I find that I am considered to be answerable 
for this because I irritated the genius of the moun¬ 
tain. Henceforth they will have a good excuse 
for idleness. 

“ The Chinese have equally amused me. They 
imagine that some treasure ought to be found be¬ 
neath the footprints, and that the block which I 
have carried away must possess great medicinal 
virtues ; so Apait and his friends have been rub¬ 
bing the under part of the stone every morning 
against another piece of granite, and, collecting 
carefully the dust that fell from it, have mixed it 
with water and drunk it fasting, fully persuaded 
that it is a remedy against all ills. Here they say 
that it is faith which cures; and it is certain that 
pills are often enough administered in the civilized 
West which have no more virtue than the granite 
powder swallowed by old Apait. 

“ His uncle Tliie-ou has disposed of his pro¬ 
perty for him for sixty ticals, so that, after paying 
off his debts, he will have left, including the sum 
I gave him for his son’s services, forty ticals. 
Here that is enough to make a man think himself 
rich to the end of his days ; he can at times re¬ 
gale the souls of his parents with tea and bon¬ 
bons, and live himself like a true country manda- 


Tke Siamese were formerly called Thai. 



248 


SIAM 


rin. Before leaving Kombau the old man secured 
me another lodging, for which I had to pay two 
ticals (six francs) a month, and I lost nothing in 
point of comfort by the change. For ‘furnished 
apartments ’ I think the charge not unreasonable. 
The list of furniture is as follows : in the dining¬ 
room nothing , in the bedroom an old mat on a 
camp-bed. However, this house is cleaner and 
larger than the other, and better protected from the 
weather; in the first the water came in in all direc¬ 
tions. Then the camp-bed, which is a large one, 
affords a pleasant lounge after my hunting expe¬ 
ditions. Besides which advantages, my new land¬ 
lord furnishes me with bananas and vegetables, for 
which I pay in game when the chase has been 
successful. 

“ The fruit here is exquisite, particularly the 
mango, the mangosteen, the pine-apple, so fragrant 
and melting in the mouth, and, what is superior to 
anything I ever imagined or tasted, the famous ‘ dur¬ 
ian ’ or ‘ dourion,’ which justly merits the title of 
king of fruits. But to enjoy it thoroughly one 
must have time to overcome the disgust at first 
inspired by' its smell, which is so strong that I 
could not stay in the same place with it. On first 
tasting it I thought it like the flesh of some ani¬ 
mal in a state of putrefaction, but after four or 
five trials I found the aroma exquisite. The du¬ 
rian is about two thirds the size of a jacca, and like 
it is encased in a thick and prickly rind, which 
protects it from the teeth of squirrels and other 
nibblers; on opening it there are to be found ten 


MOUHOT'S TRAVELS. 


249 


cells, each containing a kernel larger than a date, 
and surrounded by a sort of white, or sometimes 
yellowish cream, w r hich is most delicious. By an 
odd freak of nature, not only is there the first re¬ 
pugnance to it to overcome, but if you eat it often, 
though with ever so great moderation, you find your¬ 
self next day covered with blotches, as if attacked 
with measles, so heating is its nature. A durian 
picked is never good, for when fully ripe it falls 
of itself; when cut open it must be eaten at once, 
as it quickly spoils, but otherwise it will keep for 
three days. At Bangkok one of them costs one sd- 
lung; at Chantaboun nine may be obtained for 
the same sum. 

“ I had come to the conclusion that there was 
little danger in traversing the woods here, and in 
our search for butterflies and other insects, we often 
took no other arms than a hatchet and hunting- 
knife, while Niou had become so confident as to go 
by night with Phrai to lie in wait for stags. Our 
sense of security was, however, rudely shaken when 
one evening a panther rushed upon one of the dogs 
close to my door. The poor animal uttered a heart¬ 
rending cry, which brought us all out, as well as 
our neighbors, each torch in hand. Binding them¬ 
selves face to face with a panther, they in their 
turn raised their voices in loud screams; but it 
was too late for me to get my gun, for in a moment 
the beast was out of reach. 

“ In a few weeks I must say farewell to these 
beautiful mountains, never, in all probability, to see 
them again, and I think of this with regret; I have 


250 


SIAM. 


been so happy here, and have so much enjoyed 
my hunting and my solitary walks in this compar¬ 
atively temperate climate, after my sufferings from 
the heat and mosquitoes in my journey north¬ 
wards. 

“ Thanks to my nearness to the sea on the one 
side, and to the mountain region on the other, the 
period of the greatest heat passed away without 
my perceiving it; and I was much surprised at re¬ 
ceiving a few days ago a letter from Bangkok 
which stated that it had been hotter weather 
there than had been known for more than thirty 
years. Many of the European residents had been 
ill; yet I do not think the climate of Bangkok 
more unhealthy than that of other towns of east¬ 
ern Asia within the tropics. But no doubt the 
want of exercise, which is there almost impossible, 
induces illness in many cases. 

“ A few days ago I made up my mind to pene¬ 
trate into a grotto on Mount Sabab, half-way be¬ 
tween Chantaboun and Eombau, so deep, I am 
told, that it extends to the top of the mountain. I 
set out, accompanied by Plirai and Niou, furnished 
with all that was necessary for our excursion. On 
reaching the grotto we lighted our torches, and, af¬ 
ter scaling a number of blocks of granite, began our 
march. Thousands of bats, roused by the lights, com¬ 
menced flying round and round us, flapping our faces 
with their wings, and extinguishing our torches every 
minute. Plirai walked first, trying the ground with 
a lance which he held ; but we had scarcely pro¬ 
ceeded a hundred paces when he threw himself back 


SIAMESE ACTOltS. 





























































































































































































































































































- • • 




- . 















































i 
























































































































MOUHOT’S TRAVELS. 


251 


upon me with every mark of terror, crying out, “ A 
serpent! go back !” as he spoke I perceived an 
enormous boa about fifteen feet off, with erect head 
and open mouth, ready to dart upon him. My gun 
being loaded, one barrel with two bullets, the other 
with shot, I took aim and fired off both at once. 
We were immediately enveloped in a thick cloud of 
smoke, and could see nothing, but prudently beat an 
instant retreat. We waited anxiously for some time 
at the entrance of the grotto, prepared to do battle 
with our enemy should he present himself ; but he 
did not appear. My guide now boldly lighted a 
torch, and, furnished with my gun reloaded and a 
long rope, went in again alone. We held one end of 
the rope, that at the least signal we might fly to his 
assistance. For some minutes, which appeared ter¬ 
ribly long, our anxiety was extreme, but equally 
great was our relief and gratification when we saw 
him approach, drawing after him the rope, to which 
was attached an immense boa. The head of the 
reptile had been shattered by my fire, and his death 
had been instantaneous, but we sought to penetrate 
no farther into the grotto. 

“ I had been told that the Siamese were about 
to celebrate a grand fete at a pagoda about three 
miles off, in honor of a superior priest who died last 
year, and whose remains were now to be burned ac¬ 
cording to the custom of the country. I went to 
see this singular ceremony, hoping to gain some in¬ 
formation respecting the amusements of this peo¬ 
ple, and arrived at the place about eight in the 
morning, the time for breakfast, or ‘ kinkao,’ (rice- 


252 


SIAM. 


eating.) Nearly two thousand Siamese of both 
sexes from Chantaboun and the surrounding villa¬ 
ges, some in carriages and some on foot, were scat¬ 
tered over the ground in the neighborhood of the 
pagoda. All wore new sashes and dresses of bril¬ 
liant colors, and the effect of the various motley 
groups was most striking. 

“ Under a vast roof of planks supported by col¬ 
umns, forming a kind of shed, bordered by pieces 
of stuff covered with grotesque paintings represent¬ 
ing men and animals in the most extraordinary at¬ 
titudes, was constructed an imitation rock of col¬ 
ored pasteboard, on which was placed a catafalque 
lavishly decorated with gilding and carved work, 
and containing an urn in which were the precious 
remains of the priest. Here and there were ar¬ 
ranged pieces of paper and stuff in the form of 
flags. Outside the building was prepared the fu¬ 
neral pile, and at some distance off a platform was 
erected for the accommodation of a band of musi¬ 
cians, who played upon different instruments of the 
country. Farther away some women had estab¬ 
lished a market for the sale of fruit, bonbons, and 
arrack, while in another quarter some Chinaman 
and Siamese were performing, in a little theatre 
run up for the occasion, scenes something in the 
style of those exhibited by our strolling actors at 
fairs. This fete , which lasted for three days, had 
nothing at all in it of a funereal character. I had 
gone there hoping to witness something new and 
remarkable, for these peculiar rites are only cele¬ 
brated in honor of sovereigns, nobles, and other 


MOUHOT’S TRAVELS. 


253 


persons of high standing ; but I had omitted to 
take into consideration the likelihood of my being 
myself an object of curiosity to the crowd. Scarce¬ 
ly, however, had I appeared in the pagoda, followed 
by Phrai and Niou, w T hen on all sides I heard the 
exclamation, 4 Parang ! come and see the farang!’ 
and immediately both Siamese and Chinamen left 
their bowls of rice and pressed about me. I hoped 
that, once their curiosity was gratified, they would 
leave me in peace, but instead of that the crowd 
grew thicker and thicker, and followed me wher¬ 
ever I went, so that at last it became almost un¬ 
bearable, and all the more so as most of them were 
already drunk either with opium or arrack, many in¬ 
deed, with both. I quitted the pagoda and was 
glad to get into the fresh air again, but the respite 
was of short duration. Passing the entrance of a 
large hut temporarily built of planks, I saw some 
chiefs of provinces sitting at breakfast. The senior 
of the party advanced straight towards me, shook 
me by the hand, and begged me in a cordial and 
polite manner to enter ; and I was glad to avail 
myself of his kind offer, and take refuge from the 
troublesome people. My hosts overwhelmed me 
with attentions, and forced upon me pastry, fruit, 
and bonbons ; but the crowd who had followed me 
forced their way into the building, and hemmed us 
in on all sides ; even the roof was covered with 
gazers. All of a sudden we heard the walls crack, 
and the whole of the back of the hut, yielding un¬ 
der the pressure, fell in, and people, priests, and 
chiefs tumbling one upon another, the scene of con- 


254 


SIAM. 


fusion was irresistibly comic. I profited by the 
opportunity to escape, swearing—though rather late 
in the day—that they should not catch me again. 

“ I know not to what it is to be attributed, un¬ 
less it be the pure air of the mountains and a more 
active life, but the mountaineers of Chantaboun ap¬ 
pear a much finer race than the Siamese of the 
plain, more robust, and of a darker complexion. 
Their features, also, are more regular, and I should 
imagine that they sprang rather from the Arian than 
from the Mongolian race. They remind me of the 
Siamese and Laotians whom I met with in the 
mountains of Pakpriau. 

“ Will the present movement of the nations of 
Europe towards the East result in good by intro¬ 
ducing into these lands the blessings of our civil¬ 
ization ? or shall we, as blind instruments of bound¬ 
less ambition, come hither as a scourge to add to 
their present miseries ? Here are millions of un¬ 
happy creatures in great poverty in the midst of 
the richest and most fertile region imaginable, 
bowing shamefully under a servile yoke, made 
viler by despotism and the most barbarous cus¬ 
toms, living and dying in utter ignorance of the 
only true God ! 

“ I quitted with regret these beautiful moun¬ 
tains, where I had passed so many happy hours 
with the poor but hospitable inhabitants. On the 
evening before and the morning of my depart¬ 
ure, all the people of the neighborhood, Chinese 
and Siamese, came to say adieu, and offer me pre¬ 
sents of fruits, dried fish, fowls, tobacco, and rice 


MOUHOT'S TRAVELS. 


255 


cooked in various ways with brown sugar, all in 
greater quantities than I could possibly carry 
away. The farewells of these good mountaineers 
were touching ; they kissed my hands and feet, and 
I confess that my eyes were not dry. They ac¬ 
companied me to a great distance, begging me not 
to forget them, and to pay them another visit.” 


CHAPTEE XVI. 


PECHABURI OR p’rIPP’rEE. 

N the opposite side of the gulf from Chanta- 



KJ boun, and much nearer to the mouth of the 
Meinam, within a few hours’ sail of Paknam, is the 
town of Pechaburi, which is now famous as the 
seat of a summer palace built by the late king, and 
as a place of increasing resort for foreigners resi¬ 
dent in Siam. 

The proper orthography of the name of this 
town was a matter which gave the late king a great 
deal of solicitude and distress. Priding himself 
upon his scholarship almost as much as on his sov¬ 
ereignty, his pedantic soul was vexed by the me¬ 
thod in which some of the writers for the press 
had given the name. Accordingly, in a long arti¬ 
cle published in the Bangkok Calendar, he re- - 
lieved his mind by a protest which is so character¬ 
istic and in its way so amusing, that it will bear to 
be quoted by way of introduction to the present 
chapter. He has just finished a long disquisition, 
philological, historical and antiquarian, concernim 
the name of the city of Bangkok ; and he contin¬ 
ues as follows : 


VIEW OF THE MOUNTAINS OF PECIIABURI 

















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































PEGHABURI. 


257 


“ But as the city P’etch’ara-booree the masses of 
the people in all parts call itP’ripp’ree or P’et-p’ree. 
The name P’etch’ara-booree is Sanskrit, a royal 
name given to the place the same as T’on-booree, 
Non-booree, Nak’awn K’u’n k’an, Samoota-pra-kan, 
and CITa-chong-sow. Now if Maha nak’awn be 
called Bangkok, and the other names respectively 
called Talat-k’wan, Paklat, Paknam, andPaatrew, it 
is proper that P’etch’ara-booree should follow suit, 
and be called by her vulgar name P’rip-p’ree, or 
P’et-p’ree. 

“ Now that the company of teachers and print¬ 
ers should coin a name purporting to be after the 
royal style and yet do not take the true Sanskrit, 
seems not at all proper. In trying to Romanize the 
name P’etch’ara-booree, they place the mark over 
the a thus P’etcha-booree, making foreigners read 
it P’etcha-booree, following the utterances of old 
dunces in the temples, who boast that they know 
Balam Bali, and not satisfied with that, they even 
call the place City P’et, setting forth both the 
Bali and the meaning of the word; and thus boast¬ 
ing greatly of their knowledge and of being a 
standard of orthography for the name of that city. 

“ Now what is the necessity of coining another 
name like this ? There is no occasion for it. 
When the name is thus incorrectly printed, persons 
truly acquainted with Sanskrit and Bali (for such 
/ there are many other places) will say that those 
who write or print the name in the way, must be 
pupils of ignorant teachers—blind teachers not fol¬ 
lowing the real Sanskrit in full, taking only the 


258 


SIAM. 


utterances of woodsmen, and holding them forth 
[as the correct way.] In following such sounds 
they cannot be in accord with the Sanskrit, and 
they conclude that the name is Siamese. Where¬ 
as, in truth, it is not Siamese. The true Siamese 
name is P’rip-p’ree or P’et-p’ree. It matters not 
what letters are used to express it—follow your own 
mind ; but let the sound come out clear and accu¬ 
rate either P’rip-p’ree or P’et-p’ree, and it will be 
true Siamese. But the mode of writing and print¬ 
ing the name P’etcha-booree with the letter a 
and mark over it and other marks in two places, 
resists the eye and the mouth greatly. What¬ 
ever be done in this matter let there be uniformi¬ 
ty. If it be determined to follow the vulgar 
mode of calling the name, let that be followed out 
fully and accurately ; but if the royal mode be 
preferred, let the king be sought unto for the pro¬ 
per way of writing it, which shall be in full accord¬ 
ance with the Sanskrit. And should this happen 
not to be like the utterance of the people in the 
temples, the difference cannot be great. And 
persons unacquainted with Sanskrit will be con¬ 
strained to acknowledge that you do really know 
Sanskrit ; and comparing the corrected with the 
improper mode of Bomanizing, will praise you for 
the improvement which you have made. Such per¬ 
sons there are a few, not ignorant and blind lead¬ 
ers and dunces like the inmates of the temples and 
of the jungles and forests, but learned in the San¬ 
skrit and residents in Siam.” 

It is to be feared, however, that his majesty’s 


PEGHABURI. 


259 


protest came too late, and that, like many another 
blunder, the name Pechaburi has obtained such 
currency that it cannot be superseded. 

Sir John Bowring, “ received from a gentleman 
now resident in Siam the notes of an excursion, to 
' this city in July, 1855. 

“ ‘ We left Bangkok about three in the after¬ 
noon, and although we had the tide in our favor, 
we only accomplished five miles during the first 
three hours. Our way lay through a creek ; and 
so great was the number of boats that it strongly 
reminded me of Cheapside during the busiest part 
of the day. Although I had been in Bangkok 
four months, I had not the least conception that 
there was such a population spread along the 
creeks. More than four miles from the river, there 
appeared to be little or no diminution in the num¬ 
ber of the inhabitants, and the traffic was as great 
as at the mouth of the creek. 

“ * Having at last got past the crowd of boats, 
we advanced rapidly for two hours more, when we 
stopped at a wat , in order to give the men a rest. 
This wat, as its name “ Laos ” implies, was built 
by the inhabitants of the Laos country, and is re¬ 
markable (if we can trust to tradition) as being 
the limit of the Birmese invasion. Here, the Si¬ 
amese say, a body of Birmans were defeated by the 
'f villagers, who had taken refuge in the wat ; and 
they point out two large holes in the wall as the 
places where cannon-balls struck. After leaving 
this, we proceeded rapidly until about 12 P.M., 
when we reached the other branch of the Meinam 


260 


SIAM. 


(Meinam mahachen,) and there we halted for the 
night. 

“ £ Our journey the next day was most delight¬ 
ful ; most of it lay through narrow creeks, their 
banks covered with atap and bamboo, whilst be¬ 
hind this screen were plantations of chilis, beans, 
peas, etc. Alligators and otters abounded in the 
creeks ; and we shot several, and one of a pecu¬ 
liar breed of monkey also we killed. The Siam¬ 
ese name of it is chang , and it is accounted a 
great delicacy : they also eat with avidity the ot¬ 
ter. We crossed during the day the Tha-chin, a 
river as broad as the Meinam at Bangkok. To¬ 
wards evening we entered the Mei-Klong, which 
we descended till we reached the sea-coast. Here 
we waited till the breeze should sufficiently abate 
to enable us to cross the bay. 

“ ‘ 11th .—We started about 4 A.M., and reached 
the opposite side in about three hours. The bay 
is remarkably picturesque, and is so shallow, that, 
although we crossed fully four miles from the head 
of the bay, we never had more than six feet of wa¬ 
ter, and generally much less. Arrived at the other 
side, we ascended the river on which Pechaburi is 
built. At the mouth of the river, myriads of mon¬ 
keys were to be seen. A very amusing incident 
occurred here. Mr. Hunter, wishing to get a juve¬ 
nile specimen, fired at the mother, but, unfortunate¬ 
ly, only wounded her, and she had strength enough 
to carry the young one into the jungle. Five men 
immediately followed her ; but ere they had been 
out of sight five minutes, we saw them hurrying 


PECHABURI. 


261 


toward us shouting, “ Ling, ling, ling, ling /” (ling, 
monkey.) As I could see nothing, I asked Mr. 
Hunter if they were after the monkey. “ Oh, no,” 
he replied ; “ the monkeys are after them !” And 
so they were—thousands upon thousands of them, 
coming down in a most unpleasant manner ; and, 
as the tide was out, there was a great quantity of 
soft mud to cross before they could reach the boat, 
and here the monkeys gained very rapidly upon the 
men, and when at length the boat was reached, 
their savage pursuers were not twenty yards be¬ 
hind. The whole scene was ludicrous in the ex¬ 
treme, and I really think, if my life had depended 
upon it, that I could not have fired a shot. To 
see the men making the most strenuous exertions 
to get through the deep mud, breathless with their 
run and fright combined ; and the army of little 
wretches drawn up in line within twenty yards of 
us, screaming, and making use of the most diabol¬ 
ical language, if we could only have understood 
them ! Besides, there was a feeling that they had 
the right side of the question. One of the refu¬ 
gees, however, did not appear to take my view of 
the case : smarting under the disgrace, and the 
bamboos against which he ran in his retreat, he 
seized my gun, and fired both barrels on the exult¬ 
ing foe ; they immediately retired in great disor¬ 
der, leaving four dead upon the field. Many were 
the quarrels that arose from this affair among the 
men. 

“ * The approach to Pechaburi is very pleasant, 
the river is absolutely arched over by tamarind 


262 


SIAM. 


trees, whilst the most admirable cultivation pre¬ 
vails all along its course. 

“ ‘ The first object which attracts the attention is 
the magnificent pagoda, within which is a reclining 
figure of Buddha, one hundred and forty-five feet 
in length. Above the pagoda, the priests have, 
with great perseverance, terraced the face of the 
rock to a considerable height. About half-way up 
the mountain, there is an extensive cave, generally 
known amongst foreigners as the “ Cave of Idols ;** 
it certainly deserves its name, if we are to judge 
from the number of figures of Buddha which it 
contains. 

“ 4 The talapoins assert that it is natural. It 
may be so in part, but there are portions of it in 
which the hand of man is visible : it is very small, 
not more than thirty yards in length, and about 
seven feet high ; but anything like a cavern is so 
uncommon in this country, that this one is worth 
notice. We now proceeded to climb the mountain : 
it is very steep, but of no great height—probably 
not more than five hundred feet ; it is covered with 
huge blocks of a stone resembling granite : these 
are exceedingly slippery, and the ascent is thus 
rendered rather laborious. But when we reached 
the top, we were well repaid. The country for 
miles in each direction lay at our feet—one vast 
plain, unbroken by any elevation ; it appeared like 
an immense garden, so carefully was it cultivated ; 
the young rice and sugar-cane, of the most beauti¬ 
ful green, relieved by the darker shade of the co¬ 
coa-nut trees, which are used as boundaries to the 


PECHABURI. 


2G3 


fields—those fields traversed by suitable footpaths. 
Then towards the sea the view was more varied : 
'rice and sugar-cane held undisputed sway for a 
short distance from the town ; then cocoa-nuts be¬ 
came more frequent, until the rice finally disap¬ 
peared ; then the bamboos gradually invaded the 
cocoa-nut trees ; then the atap palm, with its mag¬ 
nificent leaf ;• and, lastly, came that great invader 
of Siam, the mangrove. Beyond were the moun¬ 
tains on the Malay Peninsula, stretching away in 
the distance. 

“ ‘ With great reluctance did we descend from 
the little pagoda, which is built upon the very sum¬ 
mit ; but evening was coming on, and we had ob¬ 
served in ascending some very suspicious-looking 
footprints mightily resembling those of a tiger. 

“ ‘ Pechaburi is a thriving town, containing 
about twenty thousand inhabitants. The houses 
are, for the most part, neatly built, and no floating 
houses are visible. Kice and sugar are two thirds 
dearer at Bangkok than they are here ; and the 
rice is of a particularly fine description. We called 
upon the governor during the evening. Next morn¬ 
ing we started for home, and arrived without any 
accident.’ ” 

It was not until the completion of his prolonged 
tour of exploration through Cambodia, and his visit 
^to the savage tribes on the frontier of Cochin 
China, that Mouhot found time for his excursion 
to Pechaburi from Bangkok. 

“ I returned to the capital,” he says, “ after fif¬ 
teen months’ absence. During the greater part of 


264 


SIAM. 


this time I had never known the comfort of sleep¬ 
ing in a bed; and throughout my wanderings my 
only food had been rice or dried fish, and I had' 
not once tasted good water. I was astonished at 
having preserved my health so well, particularly 
in the forests, where, often wet to the skin, and 
without a change of clothes, I have had to pass 
whole nights by a fire, at the foot of a tree; yet 
I have not had a single attack of fever, and been 
always happy and in good spirits, especially when 
lucky enough to light upon some novelty. A new 
shell or insect filled me with a joy which ardent 
naturalists alone can understand; but they know 
well how little fatigues and privations of all kinds 
are cared for when set against the delight expe¬ 
rienced in making one discovery after another, and 
in feeling that one is of some slight assistance to 
the votaries of science. It pleases me to think 
that my investigations into the archaeology, ento¬ 
mology, and conchology of these lands may be of 
use to certain members of the great and generous 
English nation, who kindly encouraged the poor 
naturalist; whilst France, his own country, remained 
deaf to his voice. 

“ It was another great pleasure to me, after these 
fifteen months of travelling, during which very few 
letters from home had reached me, to find, on arriv¬ 
ing at Bangkok, an enormous packet, telling me all 
the news of my distant family and country. It is 
indeed happiness, after so long a period of solitude, 
to read the lines traced by the beloved hands of an 
aged father, of a wife, of a brother-. These joys 


PECHAB URI. 


265 


are to be reckoned among the sweetest and purest 
of life. 

“ We stopped in the centre of the town, at the en¬ 
trance of a canal, whence there is a view over the 
busiest part of the Meinam. It was almost night, 
and silence reigned around us; but when at day¬ 
break I rose and saw the ships lying at anchor in 
the middle of the stream, while the roofs of the 
palaces and pagodas reflected the first rays of the 
sun, I thought that Bangkok had never looked so 
beautiful. However, life here would never suit me, 
and the mode of locomotion is wearisome after an 
active existence among the woods and in the chase. 

“ The river is constantly covered with thousands 
of boats of different sizes and forms, and the port 
of Bangkok is certainly one of the finest in the 
world, without excepting even the justly-renowned 
harbor of New York. Thousands of vessels can 
find safe anchorage here. 

“ The town of Bangkok increases in population 
and extent everyday, and there is no doubt but that 
it will become a very important capital; if France 
succeeds in taking possession of Annam, the com¬ 
merce between the two countries will increase. It 
is scarcely a century old, and yet contains nearly 
half a million of inhabitants, amongst whom are many 
Christians. The flag of France floating in Cochin 
j£fliina would improve the position of the missions in 
all the surrounding countries ; and I have reason to 
hope that Christianity will increase more rapidly 
than it has hitherto done. 

“I had intended to visit the northeast of the 


266 


SIAM. 


country of Laos, crossing Dong Phya Phai, (the 
forest of the King of Fire,) and going on to Hieng 
Naie, on the frontiers of Cochin China ; thence to 
the confines of Tonquin. I had planned to return 
afterwards by the Mekong to Cambodia, and then to 
pass through Cochin China, should the arms of 
France have been victorious there. However, the 
rainy season having commenced, the whole country 
was inundated, and the forests impassable ; so it was 
necessary to wait four months before I could put my 
project in execution. I therefore packed up and 
sent off all my collections, and after remaining a few 
weeks in Bangkok I departed for Pechaburi, situated 
about 13° north lat., and to the north of the Malay¬ 
an peninsula. 

“ On the 8th May, at five o’clock in the evening, I 
sailed from Bangkok in a magnificent vessel, orna¬ 
mented with rich gilding and carved work, belong¬ 
ing to Khrom Luang, one of the king’s brothers, 
who had kindly lent it to a valued friend of mine. 
There is no reason for concealing the name of this 
gentleman, who has proved himself a real friend in 
the truest meaning of the word; but I rather em¬ 
brace the opportunity of testifying my affection and 
gratitude to M. Malherbes, who is a French mer¬ 
chant settled at Bangkok. He insisted on accom¬ 
panying me for some distance, and the few days he 
passed with me were most agreeable ones. 

“ The current was favorable, and, with our fifteeL 
rowers, we proceeded rapidly up the stream. Our 
boat, adorned with all sorts of flags, red streamers, 
and peacocks’ tails, attracted the attention of all the 



PORTRAIT OF PRINCE KL1ROM LUANG 













PECHABURL 


267 


European residents, whose houses are built along 
the banks of the stream, and who, from their ve¬ 
randahs, saluted us by cheering and waving their 
hands. Three days after leaving Bangkok we ar¬ 
rived at Pechaburi. 

“ The king was expected there the same day, to 
visit a palace which he has had built on the summit 
of a hill near the town. Khrom Luang, Kalahom, 
(prime minister,) and a large number of mandarins 
had already assembled. Seeing us arrive, the prince 
called to us from his pretty little house ; and as soon 
as we had put on more suitable dresses we waited 
on him, and he entered into conversation with us till 
breakfast-time. He is an excellent man, and, of all 
the dignitaries of the country, the one who manifests 
least reserve and hauteur towards Europeans. In 
education, both this prince and the king are much 
advanced, considering the state of the country ; but 
in their manners they have little more refinement 
than the people generally. 

“ Our first walk was to the hill on which the pal¬ 
ace stands. Seen from a little distance, this build¬ 
ing, of European construction, preseuts a very strik¬ 
ing appearance; and the winding path which leads 
up to it has been admirably contrived amidst the'' 
volcanic rocks, basalt, and scoria which cover the 
surface of this ancient crater. 

“ About twenty-five miles off, stretches from north 
to south a chain of mountains called Deng, and in¬ 
habited by the independent tribes of the primitive 
Kariens. Beyond these rise a number of still higher 
peaks. On the low ground are forests, palm-trees, 


268 


SIAM. 


and rice-fields, the whole rich and varied in color. 
Lastly, to the south and east, and beyond another 
plain, lies the gulf, on whose waters, fading away 
into the horizon, a few scattered sails are just dis¬ 
tinguishable. 

“ It was one of those sights not to be soon forgot¬ 
ten, and the king has evinced his taste in the selec¬ 
tion of such a spot for his palace. No beings can 
be less poetical or imaginative than the Indo-Chi¬ 
nese ; their hearts never appear to expand to the 
genial rays of the sun; yet they must have some 
appreciation of this beautiful scenery, as they al¬ 
ways fix upon the finest sites for their pagodas 
and palaces. 

“ Quitting this hill, we proceeded to another, like 
it an extinct volcano or upheaved crater. Here 
are four or five grottoes, two of which are of sur¬ 
prising extent, and extremely picturesque. A paint¬ 
ing which represented them faithfully would be 
supposed the offspring of a fertile imagination; 
no one would believe it to be natural. The rocks, 
long in a state of fusion, have taken, in cooling, 
those singular forms peculiar to scoria and basalt. 
Then, after the sea had retreated—for all these 
rocks have risen from the bottom of the water— 
owing to the moisture continually dripping through 
the damp soil, they have taken the richest and 
most harmonious colors. These grottoes, more¬ 
over, are adorned by such splendid stalactites, 
which, like columns, seem to sustain the walls and 
roofs, that one might fancy one’s self present at 


PECHABURI. 


£69 


one of the beautiful fairy scenes represented at 
Christmas in the London theatres. 

“ If the taste of the architect of the king’s pal¬ 
ace has failed in the design of its interior, here, at 
least, he has made the best of all the advantages 
offered to him by nature. A hammer touching the 
walls would have disfigured them ; he had only to 
level the ground, and to make staircases to aid the 
descent into the grottoes, and enable the visitor to 
see them in all their beauty. 

“ The largest and most picturesque of the cav¬ 
erns has been made into a temple. All along the 
sides are rows of idols, one of superior size, repre¬ 
senting Buddha asleep, being gilt. 

“We came down from the mountain just at the 
moment of the king’s arrival. Although his stay 
was not intended to exceed two days, he was pre¬ 
ceded by a hundred slaves, carrying an immense 
number of coffers, boxes, baskets, etc. A disorderly 
troop of soldiers marched both in front and behind, 
dressed in the most singular and ridiculous cos¬ 
tumes imaginable. The emperor Soulouque him¬ 
self would have laughed, for certainly his old guard 
must have made a better appearance than that of 
his East Indian brother. Nothing could give a bet¬ 
ter idea of this set of tatterdemalions than the 
dressed-up monkeys which dance upon the organs 
of the little Savoyards. Their apparel was of coarse 
red cloth upper garments, which left a part of the 
body exposed, in every case either too large or too 
small, too long or too short, with white shakos, and 


270 


SIAM 


pantaloons of various colors; as for shoes, they 
were a luxury enjoyed by few. 

" A few chiefs, whose appearance was quite in 
keeping with that of their men, were on horseback, 
leading this band of warriors, whilst the king, at¬ 
tended by slaves, slowly advanced in a little open 
carriage drawn by a pony. 

“ I visited several hills detached from the great 
chain Khao Deng, which is orly a few miles off. 
During my stay here it has rained continually, 
and I have had to wage war with savage foes, 
from whom I never before suffered so much. 
Nothing avails against them ; they let themselves 
be massacred with a courage worthy of nobler be¬ 
ings. I speak of mosquitoes. Thousands of these 
cruel insects suck our blood night and day. My 
body, face and hands are covered with wounds and 
blisters. I would rather have to deal with the 
wild beasts of the forest. At times I howl with 
pain and exasperation. No one can imagine the 
frightful plague of these little demons, to whom 
Dante has omitted to assign a place in his infernal 
regions. I scarcely dare to bathe, for my body is 
covered before I can get into the water. The na¬ 
tural philosopher who held up these little animals 
as examples of parental love was certainly not tor¬ 
mented as I have been. 

“ About ten miles from Pechaburi I found sev¬ 
eral villages inhabited by Laotians, who have been 
settled there for two or three generations. Their 
costume consists of a long shirt and black panta¬ 
loons, like those of the Cochin-Chinese, and they 


PECHABURL 


271 


have the Siamese tuft of hair. The women wear 
the same head-dress as the Cambodians. Their 
songs, and their way of drinking- through bamboo 
pipes, from large jars, a fermented liquor made 
from rice and herbs, recalled to my mind what I 
had seen among the savage Stiens. I also found 
among them the same baskets and instruments 
used by those tribes. 

“ The young girls are fair compared to the Si¬ 
amese, and their features are pretty ; but they 
soon grow coarse, and lose all their charms. Iso¬ 
lated in their villages, these Laotians have pre¬ 
served their language and customs, and they never 
mingle with the Siamese.” 

To any one who has had experience of the Siam¬ 
ese mosquitoes, it is delightful to find such thor¬ 
ough appreciation of them as Mouhot exhibits. In 
number and in ferocity they are unsurpassed. A 
prolonged and varied observation of the habits of 
this insect, in New Jersey and elsewhere, enables 
this editor to say that the mosquitoes of Siam are 
easily chief among their kind. The memory of one 
night at Paknam is still vivid and dreadful. So 
multitudinous, so irresistible, so intolerable were 
the swarms of these sanguinary enemies that not 
only comfort, but health and even life itself seemed 
jeopardized, as the irritation was fast bringing on 
?a state of fever. There seemed no way but to flee. 
Orders were given to get up steam in the little 
steamer which had brought us from Bangkok, and 
we made all possible haste out of reach of the 


272 


SIAM 


shore, and anchored miles distant in the safe wa¬ 
ters of the gulf till morning. 

Mouliot remained for four months among the 
mountains of Pechaburi, “ known by the names of 
Makaon Khao, Panam Knot, Khao Tamoune, and 
Khao Samroun, the last two of which are 1,700 
and 1,900 feet above the level of the sea.” He 
needed the repose after the fatigue of his long 
journey, and by way of preparation for his new and 
arduous explorations of the Laos country, from 
which, as the result proved, he was never to come 
back. He returned to Bangkok, and after a brief 
season of preparation and farewell, he started for 
the interior. 


CHAPTER XVII. 


FROM BANGKOK TO BIRMAH—DR. COLLINS’S JOURNEY. 
F the country to the west and northwest of 



Bangkok there is but little known. One has 
not to go far from the banks of the Meinam before 
coming in sight of the range of lofty mountains 
which divide the water-shed of the Gulf of Siam 
from that of the Bay of Bengal. The Meinam, as 
has been said, divides its waters through various 
parallel channels, and discharges them into the sea 
by separate mouths. Moreover, the Me-Klong, 
(which has sometimes, but erroneously, been called 
a branch of the Meinam,) runs almost parallel with 
it from the mountains of the Karen country to the 
gulf. On this river, even at a distance of sixty 
miles from the sea, there is so strong an ebb and 
flow of the tide that large vessels are often left 
aground by it. 

“ The capital of the province of Me-Klong,” says 
Bowring, “ bears the name of the river. It was 
visited by Pallegoix, who speaks of it as a popu¬ 
lous and beautiful city, with its floating bazaars, 
flne pagodas and gardens, and a population of ten 


274 


SIAM. 


thousand, the largest proportion of which are Chi¬ 
nese. There is a considerable fortification for the 
defence of the place. The soil is remarkably fer¬ 
tile, and the salt-pits produce enough to supply the 
whole kingdom. Both sides of the river are peo¬ 
pled and cultivated. One place is called the village 
of the Twenty Thousand Palms, from the quanti¬ 
ties of that noble tree which are found in the local¬ 
ity. 

“ Of the Me-Klong canal and river Dr. Dean 
gives the following account : ‘ On Monday morn¬ 

ing we went to the mouth of the Ta-Chin Biver, 
a couple of miles below the town, where our boat¬ 
men cast their net for fish. It was past midday on 
Monday, when, the tide favoring, we passed up the 
Ta-Chin Kiver, some three or four miles from its 
mouth, when we entered the Me-Klong Canal, 
which connects the Ta-Chin with the Me-Klong 
River. We reached the town of Me-Klong, at the 
opposite terminus of the canal, at half-past nine 
o’clock the next morning, having stopped an hour 
and a half where the tides meet, at a place called 
Ma-Hou (dog-howl.) 

“ ‘ At Me-Klong we took breakfast in our boat, 
while anchored in front of a wat or temple. These 
wats are the only hotels as well as the only school- 
houses and colleges in the country. Here travel¬ 
lers find a shelter in the open sheds in front of the l 
temples ; but every traveller in this country is sup¬ 
posed to carry with him his bread and provisions, 
and cooking materials. This town has a popula¬ 
tion of ten or twelve thousand Siamese ; but a 


FROM BANGKOK TO BIRMAII. 


27o 


short distance above, on the Me-Klong River, are 
villages of Chinese, with their floating houses and 
w r ell-filled shops. Me-Klong is the native place of 
the Siamese twins, whose parents are now dead. 
Some of the family still reside at this place, whose 
chief interest about their absent brothers is that 
they should send home some money for their poor 
relations. But if, as is reported, they were sold 
for money, and sent away by their friends into a 
foreign country, they may not be under very great 
obligations to remit money to those who sold them. 

“ ‘ At six o’clock, P.M., on Tuesday, we entered 
the canal from the Me-Klong River, which leads to 
the gardens of Bangchang ; and at nine o’clock 
the same evening reached the mission-house, now 
occupied by Chek-Suan. On calling to him from 
the boat, he replied that he was “ reading for even¬ 
ing worship, but had not prayed.” When he had 
done praying, he came to the boat to receive us. 
Bangchang is an extensive plain of the richest soil, 
in many parts highly crultivated as gardens.’ ” 

Siam is not the only country in regard to which 
geographical science is under deep obligations to 
the explorations of Christian missionaries. And 
we owe to Dr. Collins, one of the American Pres¬ 
byterian missionaries, the following narrative of his 
adventurous and successful journey through the un¬ 
known region which separates the valley of the 
Meinam and the Me-Klong from the waters of the 
Bay of Bengal. 

“ Bangkok, the modern capital of Siam, is situat¬ 
ed on the river Meinam, a few miles from its 


276 


SIAM. 


mouth, and is usually reached by travellers by a 
semi-monthly steamer from Singapore. It is the 
centre of the American Baptist, Presbyterian, and 
Congregational missions in Siam ; and though re¬ 
ported not more than two or three hundred miles 
from the great Birmese missions at Maulrnain and 
Rangoon, there is no intercourse except via Singa¬ 
pore. My destination being Rangoon, and wishing 
to avoid doubling the peninsula of Malacca, and to 
investigate a probable route for missionary and 
other operations, I resolved to go overland through 
the wilderness to Maulrnain. 

“ Providing myself with an order from the prime 
minister of Siam, by which I was to obtain elephants 
at Kanburee, I left Bangkok in company with my 
wife, in a small four-oared house boat, on the 18th of 
December, 1867. My wife being not only the first 
white lady, but almost the first white person to 
attempt this comparatively unknown route, a great 
deal of anxiety was expressed on the part of 
missionary friends ; so that there followed us the 
prayers and best wishes of all, as, without a know¬ 
ledge of the language, we cut loose from civiliza¬ 
tion, and plunged into the wilderness. Siam, like 
parts of China, possesses a vast system of water 
communication, so that most parts of the level 
country may be reached by boats. Availing our¬ 
selves of this advantage, the first day our course 
was westerly through canals running parallel with, 
and a few miles from the Gulf of Siam, to near the 
mouth of the Me-Klong River. Proceeding up 
this river, we reached Kanburee, the chief town in 


I ROM BANGKOK TO BIB MAH. 


277 


northwestern Siam, in fifty-six hours from Bang¬ 
kok ; making the distance by water, at the rate of 
four miles per hour, two hundred and twenty-four 
miles. The Me-Klong River to Kanburee is an ex¬ 
ceedingly winding, broad, clear, shallow stream, 
with a slow current, and well-defined banks, on 
which are a few villages and many separated hab¬ 
itations. The best land seemed to be in the hands 
of Chinese, who cultivate tobacco, sugar-cane, cot¬ 
ton, and rice. Many of the Chinese, located on 
the banks of this river, as in other parts of Siam, 
have married native women, and form the best el¬ 
ement of the population. Quite a number are Ro¬ 
man Catholics ; while all are sober, industrious, or¬ 
derly and prosperous. 

“ On arriving at Kanburee, we presented the 
prime minister’s letter. The governor received us 
in his best style, surrounded by almost the entire 
population, who had come to gaze at the strangers. 
In order to gather the governor’s reply to our letter, 
we had to resort to the following expedient. There 
happened to be in the crowd a Cochin Chinese, who 
understood something of the Canton dialect. We 
addressed him in this dialect; he translated our 
questions into Birmese; and a Birmese present 
translated the words into Siamese, for the governor. 
We learned from the governor that he had no ele- 
rphants at Kanburee, and that we must proceed four 
/ clays’ journey, by boat, up the west branch of the 
Me-Klong, called the Me-Klong Nee , to obtain them. 
After an inexcusable delay of three days, the gov¬ 
ernor gave us a letter and an escort to the first head- 


278 


SIAM. 


man in the forests, up the river, when we started for 
the elephants. 

“ Before getting under way, however, we had 
some difficulty in persuading our four boatmen to go 
further, as, per agreement, Kanburee was their des¬ 
tination—besides, the river now began to abound in 
rapids, which required hard rowing, poling, and wad¬ 
ing, to pass, with an almost unknown wilderness all 
around. After working for twenty-five hours, we 
reached the hut of the first headman. On present¬ 
ing the governor’s letter, the man labored over it for 
an hour, and then handed it back to me in despair. 
Here was an unlooked-for dilemma. Fortunately, a 
young Siamese arrived during the afternoon, and de¬ 
ciphered the document. The headman, on learning 
the governor’s pleasure, declared by signs, and the 
words, 4 chang mai-me,’ that he had £ no elephants/ 
but that they were to be found further up stream. 
After fifteen hours of hard rowing and poling, (the 
headman and his son accompanying us,) we reached 
the hut of the second headman. Here we were 
made to understand that the elephants were out in 
the jungle, and would be driven in and made ready 
for us as soon as possible. Dismissing our boat 
and boatmen, we took up our quarters in one corner 
of a bamboo hut, perched on the edge of the high 
bank overlooking the stream. We could not walk 
one hundred yards without entering the solemn for-** 
ests, which stretched away, hundreds of miles, over 
mountains and valleys. After four days of waiting, 
the long looked for quadrupeds arrived. The ele¬ 
phants in this part of Siam belong chiefly to the 


FROM BANGKOK TO BIRMAIL 


279 


Karens, a migratory race, who change every few 
seasons from one to another of the rich mountain 
valleys. From the fact that they occupy Siamese 
territory, they are bound to furnish food, elephants, 
and guides to any who can bear an order from the 
prime minister of Siam. 

“ Our first half hour of elephant riding was of 
such a trying character that all after experiences 
failed to awaken fear or wonder. The Siamese huts, 
like those of the Karens, from which we first mount¬ 
ed the elephants, were elevated some ten feet from 
the ground, and reached by a ladder. When ready 
to start, all we had to do was to step from the floor 
of the hut on to the elephant’s head, and then into 
the howdali. This chair or saddle rested on the ele¬ 
phant’s back, and was held in position by a crupper 
under the tail, and a rattan girth around the neck of 
the animal. From our hut to the river’s brink was 
a distance of fifty feet, down a rugged and steep 
bank, at an incline- of at least forty-five degrees. 
Down this, through the tail grass and bamboos, our 
elephants made their way, sometimes sliding on their 
haunches, and then bracing, or feeling their way by 
their trunks. Into the soft ooze of the river they 
plunged, and waded through water so deep that no¬ 
thing but the howdahs and the elephant’s heads 
and trunks appeared above the surface. Then, up 
'Jtne opposite bank, equally steep, they climbed with 
slow but certain steps, until we reached the level 
land and the jungle path. After twenty-two hours 
on the elephants, (the time divided over several 
days,) we reached Chei-Yoke, the usual point on the 


280 


SIAM. 


Me-Klong Nee, where native travellers start, through 
the jungle, for Tavoy. Remaining four days at 
Chei-Yoke, we procured fresh elephants, and after 
tifty-seven hours’ ride, passing in sight of the three 
pagodas, reached a small Siamese town on the Me- 
Klong Nee, called Cass su-an. Here, after a few 
hours’ delay, (failing to procure elephants,) we took 
canoes, some live miles up the river, to Bang suan, 
a Karen village, and the last in Siam. 

“ It will be noticed that the Me-Klong Nee is navi¬ 
gable up to this Karen mountain village ; but we 
did not know this fact when leaving Bangkok, or we 
should have come by boat direct to this place. In¬ 
deed, at Bangkok there seemed to be no definite 
knowledge as to the route to Maulmain, except that 
about fifteen days were necessary to accomplish the 
journey. 

“ At Bang suan we met a company of Buddhist 
priests on their way to Siam, who told us, by s igns, 
that they had walked from Maulmain to that village 
through the forests, in two days. At Bang suan 
they were now constructing bamboo rafts on which 
to float down to Kanburee. These rafts are formed 
of seven large bamboos, cut fifteen feet long, and 
placed side by side, and firmly bound together. 

“ Each raft will easily bear one person, and draw 
not .more than three or four inches of water. After 
descending the principal rapids, the several rate? 
are united and roofed, so that the balance of the 
voyage is made with comfort and safety. 

“ Obtaining fresh elephants at Bang suan, we 
reached the boundary line of Siam in nine hours— 



SIAMESE WOMEN 



























































































































































































































































































FROM BANGKOK TO BIRMAH. 


281 


the point being marked by three large piles of stones. 
Here we were at last, almost in sight of the bay of 
Bengal, on the water-shed of the Chang Mountains, 
a range that sweeps northward, from the extremity 
of the Malayan peninsula, until it joins those sepa¬ 
rating India from the Celestial Empire. From the 
plain of Siam to this point the ascent was gradual, 
with valleys, table-lands, hills, and isolated moun¬ 
tains, covered almost everywhere with canebrakes, 
or grand old forests of precious wood. The descent 
on the Birmese side, however, was more rapid, so 
that in six hours from the boundary we reached 
the first Karen village on the headwaters of the 
Ataran. Failing to obtain elephants at this village, 
we left the next day in canoes, and, after fifty-six 
hours of rowing and shooting down rapids, reached 
Maulmain, having thoroughly ‘seen the elephant,’ 
and enjoyed enough of boat and jungle life. The 
whole journey consumed forty-three days—most of 
them days of delay, vexation, and slow travelling; 
but now that they are over, I will not stop to re¬ 
count our dangers and troubles, but simply indicate, 
after a few general statements, the best way, in the 
light of experience, of making the journey from 
Bangkok to Maulmain. 

“ Our trip occupied two hundred and forty-eight 
hours of locomotion—ninety-four on elephants, and 
one hundred and fifty-four in boats. Allowing for 
the elephants two, and for the boats three miles per 
hour, we travelled about six hundred and fifty miles, 
though the distance, in a direct fine, cannot be much 
more than one third as far. The Me-Klong, the 


282 


SIAM. 


Me-Klong Nee, and the Ataran Rivers, we found to 
be exceedingly winding, but our general course, by 
compass, was northwest. The elephant paths 
through the forests were likewise very winding, but 
their usual course was north-northwest. The Me- 
Klong Nee and Ataran Rivers abounded in rapids, 
between which were long stretches of comparatively 
still waters, resembling mountain lakes. The shores 
were everywhere covered with a gorgeous vegetation 
of flowering trees, varieties of bamboo, and climb¬ 
ing vines. The rapids were usually only a few hun¬ 
dred feet in length, and never very dangerous, though 
the water sometimes flowed with great velocity. 
With the exception of a few Birmese on their way 
to Bangkok, and an occasional fisherman casting his 
net, we saw no signs of human life. Except the 
murmur of the distant rapids, a sweet and solemn 
stillness pervaded these mountain lakes, whose 
waters, filled with fish and clear ♦as crystal, reflected 
the hues of the forest and sky, and were cooled by 
the shadows of the great mountains. Whenever we 
stopped for the night, or for our midday luncheon, 
and cast our bread upon the waters, thousands of 
the finny tribe were ready to devour it, while in all 
directions one could hear the loud splash of the 
large fish seizing their prey. The Me-Klong Nee 
would satisfy the most ardent disciple of Isaac Wal¬ 
ton. 

“ The scenery on the rivers was always beautiful, 
and sometimes grand; but in the forests we could 
seldom see over a few hundred feet in any direction. 
The forest paths, at all visible, were usually beneath 


FROM BANGKOK TO BIRMAIL 


283 


overspreading bamboos, and pleasantly shaded. The 
days were rather warm, but the nights, in the moun¬ 
tains, quite cold, with very heavy dews. We saw 
very few signs of animal life in the forests ; general¬ 
ly, a profound silence reigned, broken only by the 
wild songs of the Karens, or the cracking of bam¬ 
boos, in the pathway of the elephants. It is true, 
in the early mornings, we would see along the river 
banks whole families of monkeys basking in the 
warm sunshine, and talking over the plans of the 
day, but as we passed along they would retire into 
the depths of the forest. These forests could not 
be infested with tigers and other dangerous animals, 
as we frequently passed Karen families on foot, 
journeying from one village to another. The Karens 
have settlements all through the jungle. Their 
small villages consist of a few rude bamboo huts, 
and around them are cultivated their upland rice 
and cotton, .while the mountain streams furnish them 
fish in abundance. Sometimes they raise fowls, an_ 
cultivate sweet potatoes, the red pepper, and flowers. 
They seldom remain over two or three seasons in the 
valleys, but move away to fresh land. Our forest 
paths led through many abandoned Karen villages 
and plantations, where now rank weeds and young 
bamboos supplant the fields of rice and cotton. The 
Karens with whom we came in contact were moun¬ 
tain heathen Karens. They seemed to possess no 
wealth, cultivating only sufficient land to clothe and 
feed themselves. The women were fairer than the 
Siamese or Birmese ; and it was a pleasant sight to 
see them always cheerful and industrious—pounding 


284 


SIAM. 


paddy, weaving their garments, or otherwise occu¬ 
pied in their simple household duties, and lighten¬ 
ing their toil by singing plaintive native songs. One 
can well understand how, among such a people, so 
gentle and inoffensive, Christian missions have had 
great success. 

“ As our elephant drivers and guides were always 
anxious to lodge in these Karen villages, and as we 
were frequently delayed by obstructions in our path¬ 
way, we did not average over five hours of travel 
per day. With the exception of two nights, we 
were not compelled to sleep in the jungle, but lodged 
in Siamese or Karen villages. We were always treated 
with great kindness, and not in a single instance, for 
boats, elephants, food, or lodging, was the question 
of remuneration so much as stated. Most of the 
way we were able to purchase rice and fish, and 
sometimes eggs and fowls; but most of the Karens 
seemed quite destitute of variety in food. We 
usually paid fifty cents per day for each elephant, 
and the same amount for each night’s lodging, 
while the entire expense of our journey from 
Bangkok to Maulmain did not exceed seventy-five 
dollars. 

“ I cannot close this part of my article without 
a few remarks about elephants and their drivers. 
On arriving at our resting-place for the night, it 
was usual to turn the elephants (partially fettered ) 
loose among the bamboos; thus, nearly all night 
long, we could hear the snapping of the tall reeds 
in order that the leaves might be stripped for food. 
When this noise was not heard, we could usually 


FROM BANGKOK 7 0 BIRMAU. 


285 


hear the tinkle of the elephants’ bamboo bells, and 
thus know their locality. Some of the drivers, 
however, were always on the watch, and some one 
of the elephants was sure to be a favorite. 

“ When the elephants were grazing in the jun¬ 
gle, bright fires were always kindled, that blazed 
the long night through. The drivers, on these oc¬ 
casions, always boiled their rice in hollow green 
bamboos, and frequently the elephants would come 
forward for bits of rice or salt, and then retire. I 
remember awaking one night out of a sound sleep, 
and, looking towards the blaze and outstretched 
sleepers, espied one of the huge brutes seated on 
his haunches, like an immense dog, warming him¬ 
self before the fire. So grave, comical, and strange 
the scene appeared, in the solemn midnight of the 
tropical forest, that I had to awaken my wife to be¬ 
hold the sight. The elephant driver sits on the 
head of the animal, and by the aid of a heavy 
knife, assists in clearing the forest pathway. Some 
years ago one of our elephants, in passing through 
the forest, had his trunk wound around a large bam¬ 
boo, in the act of snapping it, when his driver, in 
attempting to assist with his knife, struck at the 
bamboo and cut the animal’s proboscis half off, and 
thus exposed the air passages a foot from its ex¬ 
tremity. The cut, owing to the restlessness of the 
animal, never united, though it healed; and thus, 
when the poor animal attempted to grasp a bamboo, 
the frightful opening was revealed. In our journey 
we rode fourteen different elephants, and all of them, 
without exception, behaved in the most gentle, intel- 


286 


SIAM. 


ligent, and patient manner, mutual affection seeming 
to subsist between master and beast. At Bangkok, 
in one of the buildings adjoining the royal palace, 
the king has a so-called white elephant, which is 
treated with divine honors ; and though I would not 
go thus far in dignifying a mere mass of matter, yet 
I am fully persuaded that most of the wonderful 
stories told of these noble brutes are strictly true. 

“ In making the journey from Bangkok to Maul- 
main, the traveller should start by the 1st of De¬ 
cember, before the mountain streams have become 
too shallow. As the Me-Klong and Me-Klong Nee 
are very winding, the boat used should be flat-bot¬ 
tomed, and draw but little water, in order to cut 
across the long shallow bends in the rivers, and the 
more easily pass the numerous rapids. With four 
boatmen, willing and able to work ten or twelve 
hours per day, the distance from Bangkok to Bang- 
suan, at the headwaters of the Me-Klong Nee, 
ought to be made in twelve days. From Bang-su- 
an, over the watershed of the Chang Mountains, to 
the headwaters of the Ataran, it is about thirty 
miles, to be made on foot in one day, or on ele¬ 
phants in two days. At the Karen village, at the 
headwaters of the Ataran, I would not advise any 
one to go down stream on a bamboo raft, but to 
purchase a small canoe, and engage two men to 
paddle to Maulmain, which ought to be reached in 
forty-eight hours. 

“ In conclusion, I think the journey may be made 
either way in from fifteen to eighteen days, dis¬ 
pensing almost entirely with elephant locomotion. 


FROM BANGKOK TO BIRMAH. 287 

Some have thought that in the future a railway 
may be constructed over, substantially, the route 
indicated ; this I very much doubt, as there seem 
to be insurmountable engineering difficulties.” 


CHAPTER XVIII. 


VARIETIES OF SIAMESE LIFE. 

T HE impression which most travellers in Siam 
have received in regard to the moral character¬ 
istics of the people has been generally favorable, 
and is on the whole confirmed by the judgment of 
foreigners who have been longer resident among 
them. They have, of course, the defects and vices 
which are to be expected in a half savage people, 
governed through many generations by the capri¬ 
cious tyranny of an Oriental despotism. And the 
climate and natural conditions of the country are 
not suited to develop in them the hardier and no¬ 
bler virtues. Industry and self-sacrifice can hard¬ 
ly be looked for as characteristics of people to 
whom nature is so bountiful as to require of them 
no exertion to provide either food or raiment. And 
on the other hand, with the sloth and inactivity to 
which nature invites, the animal passions, by indul¬ 
gence, often become fierce and overmastering. But 
it seems to be agreed that if the Siamese lack 
the industry and economy of their neighbors the 
Chinese, they have not the passionate and some¬ 
times treacherous character of the Malays. .To the 


VARIETIES OF SIAMESE LIFE. 


289 


traveller they seem inoffensive almost to timidity, 
and with a more than ordinary share of “ natural 
affection.” One of the Koman Catholic missiona¬ 
ries quoted in Bowring, says, “ Parents know how 
to make themselves extremely beloved and respect¬ 
ed, and Siamese children have great docility and 
sweetness. Parents answer to -princes for the con¬ 
duct. of their children ; they share in their chas¬ 
tisements, and deliver them up when they have 
offended. If the son takes flight, he never fails to 
surrender himself when the prince apprehends his 
father or his mother, or his other collateral rela¬ 
tions older than himself, to whom he owes re¬ 
spect.” Bowring himself testifies that “ of the af¬ 
fection of parents for children and the deference 
paid by the young to the old, we saw abundant 
evidence in all classes of society. Fathers were 
constantly observed carrying about their offspring 
in their arms, and mothers engaged in adorning 
them. The king was never seen in public by us 
without some of his younger children near him ; 
and we had no intercourse with the nobles where 
numbers of little ones were not on the carpets, 
grouped around their elders, and frequently receiv¬ 
ing attention from them.” 

The large sums frequently expended in the de¬ 
coration of the little children with anklets and 
bracelets and necklaces and chains of gold, (often 
hundreds of dollars in value and constituting their 
sole costume,) are another proof of the same paren¬ 
tal fondness. The great beauty of the children has 
attracted the notice of almost all travellers, and 


290 


SIAM 


they seem as amiable as they are beautiful. Their 
skins are colored with a fine powder, of a deep, 
golden color, and an aromatic smell. “ In the 
morning, Siamese mothers may be seen industri¬ 
ously engaged in yelloiving their offspring from 
head to heel. So universal is the custom, that in 
caressing the children of the king or nobles, you 
may be certain to carry away yellow stains upon 
your dress. A small quantity mingled with quick¬ 
lime makes a paste of a bright pink color, of 
which the consumption is so large for spreading 
on the betel-leaves which are used to wrap around 
the areca-nut, that I have seen whole boat-loads 
moving about for sale amidst the floating bazaars 
on the Meinam. This curcuma or Indian saffron 
is known to be the coloring matter in the curries, 
mulligatawnies and cliutnees of India and is thus 
seen to be available for the inside as well as the 
outside of men. 

The relations between the sexes seem to be 
characterized by much propriety and decorum ; and 
though polygamy is permitted and practiced by 
the higher classes, and divorce is easy and some¬ 
what frequent, yet, “ on the whole,” says Bowring, 
“ the condition of woman is better in Siam than 
in most Oriental countries. The education of Si¬ 
amese women is little advanced. Many of them 
are good musicians, but their principal business is 
to attend to domestic affairs ; they are as frequent¬ 
ly seen as men in charge of boats on the Meinam ; 
they generally distribute alms to the bonzes, and 
attend the temples, bringing their offerings of flow- 


VARIETIES OF SIAMESE LIFE. 


291 


ers and fruit. In the country they are busied with 
agricultural pursuits. They have seldom the art 
of plying the needle, as the Siamese garments al¬ 
most invariably consist of a single piece of cloth.” 
Some of the women are trained as actresses and as 
dancers ; and there are peculiar accomplishments, 
held in high esteem among them, as, for instance, 
so to crook the arm at the elbow that it shall pro¬ 
ject forward as if the bone was broken. In some 
cases this accomplishment is so perfect that it gives 
all the effect of a physical deformity. 

Scanty as is the dress of both sexes, there is sel¬ 
dom the least immodesty apparent ; any undue ex¬ 
posure or approach to indecency would be visited 
with the immediate and severe disapprobation of 
the whole community. The proprieties of life have 
a somewhat different definition from that which 
they would attain in civilized and Christian society, 
but, so far as they are defined and understood, they 
are rigidly observed. Pallegoix sums up the moral 
qualities of the people as follows : 

“ They are gentle, cheerful, timid, careless and 
almost passionless. They are disposed to idleness, 
inconstancy and exaction ; they are liberal alms- 
givers, severe in enforcing decorum between the 
sexes. They are fond of sports, and spend half 
their time in amusements. They are sharp and 
even witty in conversation, and resemble the Chi¬ 
nese in their aptitude for imitation.” Of theatri¬ 
cal displays, rope-dancing and the like, they are ex¬ 
tremely fond. 

Of the acuteness and wit of a people, the best 


292 


SIAM. 


evidence is to be found in their familiar proverbs, 
and the following may be cited (from Bowring) ki 
illustration of the remark just quoted from Bishop 
Pallegoix on this subject : 

“ When you go into a wood, do not forget your 
wood-knife. 

“ An elephant though he has four legs may slip ; 
and a doctor is not always right. 

“ Go up by land, you meet a tiger ; go dawn by 
water, you meet a crocodile. 

“ If a dog bite you, do not bite him again.” 

Between the luxury and splendor of the king’s 
court and the poverty of the common people, there 
is of course the greatest and most painful contrast. 
The palaces of the first and second kings are filled 
with whatever the wealth and power of their own¬ 
ers can procure. The hovels of the common pea¬ 
sants are bare and comfortless, the furniture con¬ 
sisting only of a few coarse vessels of earthen¬ 
ware or wicker-work, and a mat or two spread upon 
the floor. Removed from the very lowest ranks, in 
the Siamese houses will be found carpenter’s tools, 
a movable oven, various cooking utensils, both in 
copper and clay, spoons of mother-of-pearl, plates 
and dishes in metal and earthenware, and a large 
porcelain jar, and another of copper for fresh wa¬ 
ter. There is also a tea-set, and all the appliances 
for betel chewing and tobacco smoking, some stock 
of provisions and condiments for food. 

The same contrast exists with regard to food and 
eating. The peasant is content with his bowl of 
rice, cooked and served in the simplest way, and 





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SIAMESE ROPE-DAN(• Eli 












































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VARIETIES OF SIAMESE LITE. 


293 


with his mouthful of fish. A Siamese state-din¬ 
ner is an elaborate affair, of from sixty to a hun¬ 
dred dishes magnificently served. 

“ The ordinary meals of the Siamese are at 7 A.M. 
and 5.30 P.M., but the more opulent classes have 
a repast at midday. The guests help themselves 
out of a common dish with spoons or with their 
fingers, using or not small earthenware plates which 
are before them. 

“ Of the meals of the Siamese, Bishop Pallegoix 
says, ‘ The Thai take their repasts seated on a mat 
or carpet. The dishes are in great brazen vases 
with a cover, over which a red cloth is placed ; the 
meat is cut into small pieces, and the rice is kept 
apart in a 'large deep porringer on one side of the 
floor, while a great basin of water is on the other, 
having in it a drinking-cup. The guests have nei¬ 
ther knives nor forks, but use a mother-of-pearl 
spoon to dip into the various dishes, of which after 
having eaten a sufficiency, they drink pure water or 
tea. To help themselves one after another from the 
same plate, to drink one after another from the 
same cup, has nothing strange. The husband is 
served at table by his wife. Social repasts are al¬ 
ways silent, and seldom last more than a quarter of 
an hour. But no interruptions are permitted dur¬ 
ing meals, even in the case of dependents or slaves.’ 

“ The Siamese, in cooking their rice, wash it 
four or five times, and place it in a pot or kettle 
filled with water ; after boiling about three min¬ 
utes, the water is poured out, the pot is placed upon 
a slow fire, where the rice is steamed without being 


294 


SIAM. 


burnt ; its flavor is preserved, the different grains 
do not adhere to one another or stick to the fingers 
when eaten. Rice is used by the poor as the main 
aliment of life ; by the opulent as an accompani¬ 
ment to their meals, as bread in Europe. Glutin¬ 
ous rice is employed either in flour or grains ; a fa¬ 
vorite cake is thus prepared : the rice is cooked 
without water or steam ; it is then sprinkled with 
condiments consisting of ginger and other spices ; 
it is divided into small parcels, which are wrapped 
up in plantain leaves, and in twenty-four hours a 
sweet and vinous liquor exudes, when the cake is 
fit for eating ; if kept longer, they become intoxi¬ 
cating, and if distilled produce arak, which, subject 
to re-distillation, gives a strong and fragrant drink.” 

It is hardly necessary to remark that the Siam¬ 
ese mode of cooking rice is suited equally to any 
climate or country. Those who have been accus¬ 
tomed to the pasty and dingy mass which our Cel¬ 
tic cooks are accustomed to serve up under that 
name, would hardly imagine the excellence and at¬ 
tractiveness of the light, feathery dish which is pre¬ 
pared in the way described. Cooked in this way, 
and eaten with the delicious curry which cannot be 
imitated outside of the Indies, it is not the least of 
the many delicacies with which the table may be 
spread. We may add that the rice of Siam is of 
excellent quality, and is produced in great abun¬ 
dance. Once or twice the exportations to southern 
China have saved that country from severe famine. 
The Siamese are certainly, as a whole, a sober peo¬ 
ple. Tea is used almost as universally as in Chi- 


VARIETIES OF SINMESE LIFN. 


295 


na, and coffee is used among the wealthier classes. 
From the great vice of Eastern Asia, the use of 
opium, they are almost free, though the Chinese 
resident in Siam cannot be restrained, even by the 
severest penalties, from the traffic and use of it. 

Thus far the Siamese have suffered little from 
drunkenness, which is, indeed, rather the vice of 
colder climates. The quiet, sober, inoffensive con¬ 
duct of the people has been remarked upon by all 
travellers. 

Until the reign of the present king, slavery pre¬ 
vailed to a great extent. But the nineteenth cen¬ 
tury is proving to be an era of emancipation in 
three continents. In Kussia, in the United States, 
and now, last of all, in Siam, the yoke of bondage 
is broken. At the time of Bowring’s visit, in 1855, 
it was estimated that “ one third of the population 
of Siam are in the condition of slaves ; tlie’se are 
divided into three classes, (1) prisoners of war, (2) 
redeemable, and (3) unredeemable slaves. When a 
foreign country is invaded, the captives are distri¬ 
buted among the nobles, according to the king’s 
pleasure ; these captives are transferable at a ran¬ 
som of 48 ticals (six pounds) each. Kedeemable 
slaves consist principally of those whose persons 
are in pawn for debt, and whose services are suf¬ 
fered to pay the interest of the debt. They may 
be ransomed by the discharge of the debt. Unre¬ 
deemable slaves are children sold by their parents 
under written contract, and are at the absolute dis¬ 
posal of the purchaser. The price of a slave va¬ 
ries according to age and sex ; from twelve to six- 


296 


SIAM. 


teen, the ordinary value is from 40 to 60 ticals; a 
full grown man is worth from 80 to 160 ticals. 
The slavery to which they are subjected is not that 
of field labor.” The impression of competent ob¬ 
servers seemed to be that the slaves were kindly 
treated, as kindly as domestic servants in Europe 
—sometimes made members of the family, and al¬ 
ways more or less under the protection of law. 
But on the other hand, there were often to be met, 
in the streets of Bangkok, sorrowful-looking per¬ 
sons in chains, “ men and women in larger or 
smaller groups, attended by an officer of police 
bearing a large staff or stick, as the emblem of au¬ 
thority. The weight of the chains is apportioned 
to the magnitude of the offence for which the 
bearer is suffering. I understood,” says Bow¬ 
ring, “ a large portion of these prisoners to be 
debtors. If a person cannot pay what he owes, 
his body is delivered over to his creditors. There 
is no redemption but by the act of the creditor or 
the payment of the debt. Friends or relatives of¬ 
ten interfere for its discharge. The legal rate of 
interest being thirty per cent., it may well be con¬ 
ceived how rapidly ruin will overtake an unfortu¬ 
nate debtor.” 

It is pleasant to think that these pictures belong 
to a past age, and that the young king now on the 
throne has won for himself the high distinction of 
abolishing by a word a system which, however hu¬ 
mane in its administration, and however restricted 
and managed by legal enactments, must have in- 


VARIETIES OF SIAMESE LIFE. 


297 


volved untold suffering to those who were the vic¬ 
tims of it. The abolition of slavery in Siam is not 
the least of the steps by which this ancient king¬ 
dom is advancing in Christian civilization. 


CHAPTEK XIX. 


BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, AND DEATHS. 

W ITH all the great progress in enlighten¬ 
ment and civilization which has been wit¬ 
nessed in Siam during the last twenty years, (chiefly 
during the reign of the last king,) the manners and 
customs of the country still exhibit a curious degree 
of savagery and superstition. Some of the customs 
are barbarously cruel, and some are barbarously 
magnificent. A glimpse at the customs connected 
with birth, marriage, and death will be interesting, 
and will illustrate the peculiarities of Siamese fash¬ 
ion. For birth, marriage, and death, in Siam as 
elsewhere, are recognized as the three crises of hu¬ 
man life. To these three the Siamese have added a 
fourth—the shaving of the tuft of the young men 
when they come of age—to mark the entrance upon 
adult life. 

“ There are,” says Bowring, “ certain imposing 
ceremonies, called Tham Khuan, which mark these 
principal events or eras in the life of a Siamese. 
These commemorations are never neglected, and 
even in the case of the less privileged classes are 
made the subject of much display. A sort of altar 


SIAMESE LADIES AT DINNER. 
































































BIRTHS, MARRIAGES AND DEATHS. 


299 


is erected of planks or bamboos, having seven steps 
of ascent, which are carpeted with fresh banana- 
leaves. Each of the steps is ornamented with gro¬ 
tesque figures of angels and animals in clay, paper, 
or carved out of calabashes. Vessels of metal or 
porcelain are crowded with meats and fruits. On 
the upper stages are garlands of flowers, and leaves 
of tinsel, gold, and silver, in the midst of which is a 
fresh cocoa-nut. At the foot of the altar are nine 
chandeliers, whose wax candles are kindled at a sig¬ 
nal given by three discharges of a musket. One of 
the candles is seized by the person in whose honor 
the ceremonial has been prepared, and he walks 
three times round the altar ; when his friends ap¬ 
proach, each seizes one of the wax-lights, which he 
blows out over the head of 4 the ordained,’ so that 
its smoke may envelop his forehead. Then the 
fresh cocoa-nut is given him that he may drink its 
milk, eating with it a hard egg; and a cup contain¬ 
ing coins to the value of about four pence is pre¬ 
sented to him. At this moment a band of instru¬ 
ments breaks into music, and the ceremony ends. 

“ Marriages are the subject of much negotiation, 
undertaken not directly by the parents, but by 4 go- 
betweens,’ nominated by those of the proposed 
bridegroom, who make proposals to the parents of 
the intended bride. A second repulse puts the ex¬ 
tinguisher on the attempted treaty ; but if success¬ 
ful, a large boat, gaily adorned with flags and ac¬ 
companied by music, is laden with garments, plate, 
fruits, betel, etc. In the centre is a huge cake or 
cakes, in the form of a pyramid, printed in bright 


300 


SIAM. 


colors. The bridegroom accompanies the proces¬ 
sion to the house of his future father-in-law, where 
the lady’s dowry and the day for the celebration of 
the marriage are fixed. It is incumbent on the 
bridegroom to erect or to occupy a house near that 
of his intended, and a month or two must elapse be¬ 
fore he can carry away his bride. No religious rites 
accompany the marriage, though bonzes are invited 
to the feast, whose duration and expense depend 
upon the condition of the parties. Music is an in¬ 
variable accompaniment. Marriages take place 
early; I have seen five generations gathered round 
the head of a family. I asked the senior Somdetch 
how many of his descendants lived in his palace ; 
he said he did not know, but there were a hundred 
or more. It was indeed a frequent answer to the 
inquiry in the upper ranks, ‘ What number of chil¬ 
dren and grandchildren have you ?’ ‘ Oh, multitudes ; 
we cannot tell how many.’ I inquired of the first 
king how many children had been born to him ; he 
said, ‘ Twelve before I entered the priesthood, and 
eleven since I came to the throne.’ I have general¬ 
ly observed that a pet child is selected from the 
group to be the special recipient of the smiles and 
favors of the head of the race. 

“ Though wives or concubines are kept in any 
number according to the wealth or will of the hus¬ 
band, the wife who has been the object of the mar¬ 
riage ceremony, called the Khan mak, takes prece¬ 
dence of all the rest, and is really the sole legitimate 
spouse ; and she and her descendants are the only 
legal heirs to the husband’s possessions. Marriages 


BIRTHS, MARRIAGES AND DEATHS. 


301 


are permitted beyond the first degree of affinity. 
Divorce is easily obtained on application from the 
woman, in which case the dowry is restored to the 
wife. If there be only one child, it belongs to the 
mother, who takes also the third, fifth, and all those 
representing odd numbers; the husband has the 
second, fourth, and so forth. A husband may sell 
a wife that he has purchased, but not one who has 
brought him a dowry. If the wife is a party to 
contracting debts on her husband’s behalf, she may 
be sold for their redemption, but not otherwise.” 

One natural result of polygamy is not only to 
take away from the beauty and dignity of the mar¬ 
riage relation, but also to lessen the amount of cere¬ 
mony with which the marriage is celebrated. A 
Siamese of the higher class is generally “ so much 
married,” that it is hardly worth his while to make 
much fuss about it, or indulge in much parade on 
the occasion. Accordingly the ceremonial would 
seem to be much less than that of burial. For a 
man can die but once, and his funeral is not an event 
to be many times repeated. 

“ There is an extraordinary usage connected with 
childbirth. The event has no sooner taken place 
than the mother is placed near a large fire, where 
she remains for weeks exposed to the burning heat; 
death is often caused by this exposure. So univer¬ 
sal is the usage, so strong the prejudice in its favor, 
among high and low, that the king himself has 
vainly attempted to interfere; and his young and 
beautiful wife, though in a state of extreme peril and 
Steering, was subjected to this torture, and died 


302 


SIAM. 


while ‘ before the fire ’—a phrase employed by the 
Siamese to answer the inquiry made as to the ab¬ 
sence of the mother. A medical missionary told me 
he had been lately called in to prescribe for a lady 
who was ‘ before the fire ;’ but ere he had reached 
the house, the patient had died, and both body and 
funeral pile had been removed. There seems some 
mysterious idea of pacification, such as in some 
shape or other prevails in many parts of the world, 
associated with so cruel a rite. Mothers nurse their 
children till they are two or three years old, nour¬ 
ishing them at the same time with rice and ba¬ 
nanas.” 

This singular custom is more carefully described 
by Dr. Bradley, one of the American missionaries. 
The occasion was the first confinement of the wife 
of the late second king, in the year 1835. Dr. 
Bradley was dining with a party of friends at the 
house of the Portuguese consul. He says : “ Just 

before we rose from table, a messenger from Prince 
Chowfah-noi [the late second king] came, apologiz¬ 
ing for his master’s absence from the dinner, and 
requesting my attendance on his wife in her first 
parturition. The call for me, although silently 
given, was quickly understood by all the party, and 
the interest which it excited was of no ordinary 
character, because it indicated a violation of the 
sacred rules, absurdities and cruelties of Siamese 
midwifery, and that too by the second man in the 
kingdom. 

“ I was obedient to the call, and was forthwith 
conducted thither in H. B. Highness’s boat after 


BIRTHS, MARRIAGES AND DEATHS . 


303 


I liad accompanied my wife to our home. The 
prince was at the landing awaiting my arrival. His 
salutation in English was most expressive, indicat¬ 
ing peculiar pleasure in seeing me, informing me 
that his wife had given birth to a daughter a little 
before my arrival, and saying that in accordance 
with Siamese custom, she was lying by a fire. He 
expressed great abhorrence of the custom, and de¬ 
sired me to prevail upon his friends and the mid¬ 
wives to dispense with it, and substitute the English 
custom. To confirm him still more in his opinion 
that the English custom was incomparably the best, 
I spread before him many arguments and appealed 
to humanity itself. He appeared to enter fully into 
my views, saying that his wife was of the same 
opinion, but expressed much fear that no improve¬ 
ment could be made in her situation in consequence 
of the influence of the ex-queen, his mother, and 
princesses and midwives. 

“ I was not allowed to see his wife until after his 
mother and princesses had retired, which was not 
till quite late in the evening. The prince went a 
little time before me to prepare the way, and then 
sent his chamberlain to conduct me to the house of 
his wife, where he received me, and led me to the 
bedside of his suffering companion. She was sur¬ 
rounded by a multitude of old women affecting 
wondrous wisdom in the treatment of their patient. 
The fiery ordeal had indeed commenced, and the 
poor woman was doomed to lie before a hot fire a 
full month. I found the mother lying on a narrow 
wooden bench without a cushion, elevated above 


304 


SIAM. 


the floor eight or ten inches, with her bare back ex¬ 
posed to a hot fire about eighteen inches distant. 
The fire, I presume to say, was sufficiently hot to 
have roasted a spare-rib at half the distance. Hav¬ 
ing lain a little time in this position, she was rolled 
over and had her abdomen exposed to the flame. 

“ With all the reasoning and eloquence I could 
employ, both through the prince and speaking di¬ 
rectly to them, I could not persuade the ignorant 
women that it would be prudent to suspend their 
course of treatment, even for a night, so that the 
sufferer might have a little quiet rest on a com¬ 
fortable bed. They said that the plan of treatment 
which I proposed was entirely new to them, and 
that I was also a stranger, and therefore it would 
not do at all to expose so honorable a personage 
to the dangers of an experiment. 

“ The prince then informed me that this amount 
of fire was to be continued three days, after which 
its intensity would have to be doubled, and con¬ 
tinued for 30 days, as it was the mother’s first 
child. The custom, he said, is to abridge the term 
to 25, 20, 18, 15 and 11 days according to the 
number of children the woman has had. 

“ Having had a look at the infant princess lying 
in a neatly-curtained bed, I retired from the place 
with scarcely any expectation that my visit would 
effect any immediate good. 

“ I visited Chowfah-noi the next evening in com¬ 
pany with Mrs. B. The thought had occurred to 
me that she could probably exert more influence 
with the females than I could, and that possibly 


BIRTHS, MARRIAGES AND DEATHS. 


305 


slie might induce them to adopt my plan of prac¬ 
tice in relation to the mother and the child. We 
were heartily welcomed by his royal highness, who 
first took much pleasure in showing us all his cu¬ 
riosities, and then gave us an interview with his 
lady. She was still lying by a hot fire, and com¬ 
plained much of soreness of the hips from pressure 
on the hard couch. At first she seemed to be some¬ 
what abashed at the presence of Mrs. B., whom 
she had never before seen. But it was not long ere 
that was all exchanged for a good degree of intima- 
.cy, seeing that she was a woman like herself. Mrs. 
B. prevailed on her to take some of my medicine 
and to have the child put to the breast of its mo¬ 
ther instead of giving it up to a wet-nurse. But 
though she made the experiment in our presence, 
there was no reason to think that it was continued. 

“ Two days later the prince sent for me in great 
haste about 2 P.M. to see his wife and child. I has¬ 
tened to the palace, but was too late to do anything 
for the child, as it had died a little before my arri¬ 
val. The prince was evidently much affected at the 
death of his first-born, and there was much weeping 
among the relatives and servants, who had congre¬ 
gated in multitudes in apartments adjacent to the 
room which the mother occupied. The prince was 
very anxious concerning his wife, and seemed to 
wish with all his heart to have her taken out of the 
hands of native physicians and^placed under my 
care. This he labored indefatigably to accomplish 
for more than two hours, while I waited for the 
result. But to his sorrow he at length reported 


306 


SIAM. 


that he could not succeed, and said that his mo¬ 
ther and sisters and physicians, together with a 
multitude of conceited and headstrong old women, 
were too much for him, and that he would be 
obliged to allow them to go on in their own way, 
however hazardous the consequences. He wished 
me to give him the privilege of sending for me if 
his wife should by her own physicians be consid¬ 
ered in a dangerous way. I had declined doing 
anything in the case unless I could have the en- 
. tire care of the patient, fearing that if I attempt¬ 
ed to administer while the native means were being 
employed, I should bring reproach both upon Eu¬ 
ropean medical practice, and the dear cause which 
I had espoused.” 

In this connection, it may be interesting to quote 
(from Bowring) as a specimen of the methods of 
the native physicians in the treatment of disease, a 
prescription for what was called by the doctor who 
administered the dose “ morbific fever.” What be¬ 
came of the unfortunate being to whom it was 
given is not stated, and we can only indulge in the 
most dismal and harrowing conjectures. The recipe 
is as follows : 

“•One portion of rhinoceros horn, one of elephant’s 
tusk, -one of tiger’s, and the same of crocodile’s 
teeth ; one bear’s tooth, one portion composed of 
three parts bones of vulture, raven, and goose; one 
portion of bison, and another of stag’s horn, one 
portion of sandal. These ingredients to be mixed 
together on a stone with pure water; one half of 
the mixture to be swallowed, the rest to be rubbed 


BIRTHS , MARRIAGES AND DEATHS. 


307 


into the bod} 7 ; after which the morbific fever will 
depart.” But what a very dreadful thing the mor¬ 
bific fever must be, that it is necessary to bring to 
bear upon it the combined ferocity of all the savage 
creatures of the forest and the flood ! 

“ Shaving the hair tuft of children is a great fam¬ 
ily festival, to which relations and friends are in¬ 
vited, to whom presents of cakes and fruits are sent. 
A musket-shot announces the event. Priests recite 
prayers, and wash the head of the young person, 
who is adorned with all the ornaments and jewels 
accessible to the parents. Music is played during 
the ceremony, which is performed by the nearest 
relatives ; and congratulations are addressed, with 
gifts of silver, to the newly-shorn. Sometimes the 
presents amount to large sums of money. Dramatic 
representations among the rich accompany the fes¬ 
tivity, which in such case lasts for several days. 

“ Education begins with the shaving the tuft; 
and the boys are then sent to the pagodas to be in¬ 
structed by the bonzes in reading and writing, and 
in the dogmas of religion. They give personal ser¬ 
vice in return for the education they feceive ; that 
education is worthless enough, but every Siamese 
is condemned to pass a portion of his life in the 
temple, which many of them never afterwards quit. 
Hence the enormous supply of an unproductive, idle, 
useless race. 

“ When a Thai (or Siamese) is at the point of 
death, the talapoins are sent for, who sprinkle lus- 
tral water upon the sufferer, recite passages which 
speak of the vanity of earthly things from their sa- 


308 


SIAM. 


cred books, and cry out, repeating the exclamation 
in the ears of the dying, ‘ Arahang! arahang!’ (a 
mystical word implying the purity or exemption of 
Buddha from concupiscence). When the dying has 
heaved his last breath, the whole family utter pierc¬ 
ing cries, and address their lamentations to the de¬ 
parted :—‘ O father benefactor! why leave us ? What 
have we done to offend you ? Why depart alone ? 
It was your own fault. Why did you eat the fruit 
that caused the dysentery? We foretold it; why 
did not you listen to us ? O misery ! O desolation ! 
O inconstancy of human affairs!’ And they fling 
themselves at the feet of the dead, weep, wail, kiss, 
utter a thousand tender reproaches, till grief has ex¬ 
hausted its lamentable expressions. The body is 
then washed and enveloped in white cloth ; it is 
placed in a coffin covered with gilded paper, and 
decorated with tinsel flowers; a dais is prepared, 
ornamented with the same materials as the coffin, 
but with wreaths of flowers and a number of wax- 
lights. After a day or two, the coffin is removed, 
not through the door, but through an opening spe¬ 
cially made in the wall; the coffin is escorted thrice 
round the house at full speed, in order that the dead, 
forgetting the way through which he has passed, 
may not return to molest the living. The coffin is 
then taken to a large barge, and placed on a plat¬ 
form, surmounted by the dais, to the sound of mel¬ 
ancholy music. The relations and friends, in small 
boats, accompany the barge to the temple where the 
body is to be burnt. Being arrived, the coffin is 
opened and delivered to the officials charged with 



BUILDING ERECTED AT FUNERAL OF SIAMESE OF HIGH RANK 


I | 













































































. 


• 1 





BIRTHS, MARRIAGES AND DEATHS. 


309 


the cremation, the corpse having in his mouth a sil¬ 
ver tical (25. 6d. in value) to defray the expenses. 
The burner first washes the face of the corpse with 
cocoa-nut milk ; and if the deceased have ordered 
that his body shall be delivered to vultures and 
crows, the functionary cuts it up and distributes it 
to the birds of prey which are always assembled in 
such localities. The corpse being placed upon the 
pile, the fire is kindled. When the combustion is 
over, the relatives assemble, collect the principal 
bones, which they place in an urn, and convey them 
to the family abode. The garb of mourning is 
white, and is accompanied by the shaving of the 
head. The funerals of the opulent last for two or 
three days. There are fireworks, seiynons from the 
bonzes, nocturnal theatricals, where all sorts of 
monsters are introduced. Seats are erected within 
the precincts of the temples, and games and gam¬ 
bling accompany the rites connected with the 
dead.” 

At the death of any member of the royal family, 
the funeral ceremonies become a matter of national 
importance. If it is the king who is dead, the 
whole country is in mourning ; all heads are shaved. 
The ceremonies at the cremation of the body of the 
late first king lasted from the 12th of March (1870) 
till the 21st of the same month. The king of 
Chieng-mai came from his distant home among 
the Laos mountains to be present on the occasion ; 
and the pomp and expense of the ceremony, for 
which preparations had been more than a year in 
progress, 'surpassed anything that had been known 


310 


SIAM. 


in the history of Siam. The following description 
of the funeral of one of the high commissioners 
who negotiated the English treaty, and who died a 
few days after the signing of the treaty, was fur¬ 
nished to Sir John Bowring by an eye-witness. The 
ceremonies at the royal funeral were not dissimilar, 
though on a more extensive scale. 

“ The building of the ‘ men, 1 or temple, in which 
the burning was to take place, occupied four 
months ; during the whole of which time between 
three and four hundred men were constantly en¬ 
gaged. The whole of it was executed under the 
personal superintendence of the ‘ Kalahome.’ 

“ It would be difficult* to imagine a more beautiful 
object than this, temple was, when seen from the op¬ 
posite side of the river. The style of architecture 
was similar to that of the other temples in Siam ; 
the roof rising in the centre, and thence running 
down in a series of gables, terminating in curved 
points. The roof was covered entirely with scarlet 
and gold, whilst the lower part of the building was 
blue, with stars of gold. Below, the temple had 
four entrances leading directly to the pyre ; upon 
each side, as you entered, were placed magnificent 
mirrors, which reflected the whole interior of the 
building, which was decorated with blue and gold, 
in the same manner as the exterior. From the roof 
depended immense chandeliers, which at night in¬ 
creased the effect beyond description. Sixteen 
large columns, running from north to south, sup¬ 
ported the roof. The entire height of the building 
must have been 120 feet, its length about "fifty feet, 


BIRTHS, MARRIAGES AND DEATHS. 


311 


and breadth forty feet. In the centre was a raised 
platform, about seven feet high, which was the 
place upon which the urn containing the body was 
to be placed; upon each side of this were stairs 
covered with scarlet and gold cloth. 

“ This building stood in the centre of a piece of 
ground of about two acres extent, the whole of 
which ground -was covered over with close rattan- 
work, in order that visitors might not wet their feet, 
the ground being very muddy. 

“ This ground was enclosed by a wall, along the 
inside of which myriads of lamps were disposed, 
rendering the night as light as the day: The whole 
of the grounds belonging to the adjoining temple 
contained nothing but tents, under which Siamese 
plays were performed by dancing-girls during the 
day ; during the night, transparencies were in vogue. 
Along the bank of the river, Chinese and Siamese 
plays (performed by men) were in great force ; and 
to judge by the frequent cheering of the populace, 
no small talent was shown by the performers, which 
talent in Siam consists entirely in obscenity and vul¬ 
garity. 

“ All approaches were blocked up long before day¬ 
light each morning, by hundreds—nay, thousands of 
boats of every description in Siam, sampans, mapet , 
ma k’eng, ma guen, etc., etc.; these were filled with 
presents of white cloth, no other presents being ac¬ 
cepted or offered during a funeral. How many 
ship-loads of fine shirting were presented during 
those few days it is impossible to say. Some con¬ 
ception of the number of boats may be had from 


312 


SIAM. 


the fact that, in front of my floating house, I counted 
seventy-two large boats, all of which had brought 
cloth. 

“ The concourse of people night and day was 
quite as large as at any large fair in England ; and 
the whole scene, with the drums and shows, the 
illuminations and the fireworks, strongly reminded 
me of Greenwich Fair at night. The varieties in 
national costume were considerable, from the long 
flowing dresses of the Mussulman to the scanty pan - 
hung of the Siamese. 

“ Upon the first day of the ceremonies, when I 
rose at daylight, I was quite surprised at the num¬ 
ber and elegance of the large boats that were dash¬ 
ing about the river in every direction ; some of them 
with elegantly-formed little spires (two in each boat) 
of a snowy-white, picked out with gold ; others with 
magnificent scarlet canopies, with curtains of gold ; 
others filled with soldiers dressed in red, blue, or 
green, according to their respective regiments; the 
whole making a most effective tableau, far superior 
to any we had during the time the embassy was 
here. 

“ Whilst I was admiring this scene, I heard the 
cry of 4 Sedet,' (the name of the king when he goes 
out,) and turning round, beheld the fleet of the king’s 
boats sweeping down. His majesty stopped at the 
4 men,' where an apartment had been provided for 
him. The moment the king left his boat, the most 
intense stillness prevailed—a silence that was abso¬ 
lutely painful; this was, after the lapse of a few 
seconds, broken by a slight stroke of a tom-tom. 



BUILDING FOB 


THE INCREMATION OF 


SIAMESE OF HIGH RANK. 















































































































































































































BIRTHS, MARRIAGES AND DEATHS. 


313 


At that sound, every one on shore and in the boats 
fell on their knees, and silently and imperceptibly 
the barge containing the high priest parted from 
the shore at the Somdetch’s palace, and floated with 
the tide towards the ‘ men .’ This barge was imme¬ 
diately followed by that containing the urn, which 
was placed upon a throne in the centre of the boat. 
One priest knelt upon the lower part of the urn in 
front, and one at the back. (It had been constantly 
watched since his death.) Nothing could exceed 
the silence and immovability of the spectators; the 
tales I used to read of nations being turned to 
statues were here realized, with the exception that 
all had the same attitude. It was splendid, but it 
was fearful. During the whole of the next day, the 
urn staid in the * men,' in order that the people 
might come and pay their last respects. 

“ The urn, or rather, its exterior cover, was com¬ 
posed of the finest gold, elegantly carved and stud¬ 
ded with innumerable diamonds. It was about five 
feet high, and two feet in diameter. 

“ Upon the day of the burning, the two kings ar¬ 
rived about four P. M. The golden cover was taken 
off, and an interior urn of brass now contained the 
body, which rested upon cross-bars at the bottom of 
the urn. Beneath were all kinds of odoriferous 
gums. 

The first king, having distributed yellow cloths 
to an indefinite quantity of priests, ascended the 
steps which led to the pyre, holding in his hand a 
lighted candle, and set fire to the inflammable mate¬ 
rials beneath the body. After him came the second 


314 


SIAM. 


king, who placed a bundle of candles in the flames ; 
then followed the priests, then the princes, and lastly 
the relations and friends of the deceased. The 
flames rose constantly above the vase, but there was 
no unpleasant smell. 

“ His majesty, after all had thrown in their can¬ 
dles, returned to his seat, where he distributed to 
the Europeans a certain number of limes, each con¬ 
taining a gold ring or a small piece of money ; then 
he commenced scrambling the limes, and seemed to 
take particular pleasure in just throwing them be¬ 
tween the princes and the missionaries, in order that 
they might meet together in the ‘ tug of war.’ 

“ The next day, the bones were taken out, and 
distributed amongst his relations ; and this closed 
the ceremonies. During the whole time, the river 
each night was covered with fireworks; and in 
Siam the pyrotechnic art is far from being des¬ 
picable.” 


CHAPTER XX. 


OLD AND NEW BANGKOK. 

S O rapid and so extensive are the improvements 
which the present king of Siam has underta¬ 
ken, that something of the picturesque beauty of 
the capital has already disappeared, and its re¬ 
semblance to a European city begins to be some¬ 
what apparent. Wheeled vehicles have begun to be 
introduced where once the dreamy silence of the 
watery streets was unbroken except by the plash of 
oars and the cry of the oarsmen as they bent to 
their work. A carriage road from Bangkok to 
Paknam, thirty miles distant, at the mouth of the 
river, and a broad drive-way of the kind which it 
is now fashionable to call a boulevard, and upon 
which the high life of Bangkok may display itself 
with such splendor of equipage as it may choose, 
are among the improvements which the young king 
has undertaken. Moreover, he has adopted a cos¬ 
tume more closely European than that worn by his 
father or by any of his predecessors. The days of 
trouserless legs are over in Siam, at least in the 
fashionable circles of Siam ; for not only does the 


316 


SIAM. 


king set the example by wearing trousers of an 
Occidental pattern—though as yet somewhat loose 
and baggy—but, as if the example of a king were 
not in itself sufficient, he has ordained that any 
of his princes and noblemen adopting a similar 
costume, shall be exempt from the obligation of 
prostrating themselves in his presence. There is 
indeed an obvious logical relation between costume 
and custom, which makes this edict of the king a 
proper one. 

The king too has been abroad, not only fulfilling 
his father’s partly-formed intention of a visit to 
Singapore, but extending his voyage as far as Cal¬ 
cutta. Such a voyage, with the glimpse of the out¬ 
side world which it affords, will be sure to result in 
the introduction of still more of western style and 
custom. And the beautiful old city, hidden so long 
in its picturesque and lonely splendor, will become, 
in its degree, like other cities of the world, busy 
with its merchandise and commerce, cursed with 
the vices of civilization, as well as blessed with its 
strength and excellence. Already the shipping-list 
of the port shows an increase during the last twenty 
years, from nine vessels in 1847, to three hundred 
and forty-seven sailing vessels, and thirty-nine 
steamers in 1870. The vessels under the Siamese 
flag alone, numbered (in 1870) one hundred and ten 
sailing vessels and eighteen steamers. The total 
value of the cargoes of vessels entered in 1870 was 
no less than $4,190,733.00, while the value of car¬ 
goes of vessels cleared during the same year 
amounted to more than six and a half millions of 


OLD AND NEW BANGKOK 


317 


dollars. The chief article of export is rice, which 
is sent not only to the ports of China, of Japan, 
and of the East Indies, but also to Australia and 
even to Europe and America. Spices of various 
kinds, cotton, sugar, ivory, rose-wood, sapan-wood, 
teak timber, ebony, and other productions of the 
tropics, in which Siam can compete with any coun¬ 
try in the world, are also in the list of exports for 
the current year. 

During the reign of the last kings the change had 
already begun, and the modernizing of the city was 
apparent. The new palace of che king at Bangkok 
is in a European style of architecture, and the 
furniture of the kings* houses was in large measure 
so Occidental that one could easily forget, sitting 
and talking in the English language, amid surround¬ 
ings so homelike and familiar, that he was in the 
remote East, and at the court of an Asiatic ruler. 
The tastes of the young man now on the throne 
have been turned even more strongly in the same 
direction, for the reason that he was for two years 
under the instruction of an English lady, Mrs. Leon- 
owens, as his governess. That her influence over 
him was appreciable is evident from the letter of 
pleasant and grateful remembrance, in which he 
wrote to her after his accession to the throne; al¬ 
though the young king’s English is not very much 
better than his father’s was, and the affectation of 
grandiloquent and condescending patronage is quite 
as sublime as was his father’s in his loftiest mo¬ 
ments. 

But great as are the changes which are in process 


318 


SIAM. 


or in preparation, there are some features of the 
city which are likely to remain unaltered. The in¬ 
troduction of wheeled vehicles 4s not likely ever to 
supersede the carriage by water, for which the facil¬ 
ities are so great, and the variety and liveliness of 
which are so attractive. No traveller will ever for¬ 
get the beauty of the Bangkok boats. Some of 
them are as much as a hundred and twenty feet 
long, and moved by as many as a hundred oarsmen, 
who sit facing forward, and use their short, broad- 
bladed oars as paddles. The paddlers of the royal 
boats are dressed in scarlet, and wear a pictur¬ 
esque head-dress. The strokes of the paddle are 
strong and regular. The stem and stern are raised 
high above the body of the barge, and gener¬ 
ally represent the head and tail of some monster. 
The effect of the boat is as of a living creature with 
a hundred legs and rearing head. It is “ guided by 
means of long oars, by one or more steersmen, who 
from their elevated position on the poop give the 
word of command to the rowers, who are seated be¬ 
low. There is a roofed cabin, adorned sometimes 
with curtains of crimson and gold silk, either in the 
centre or near the stern, in which is the place of 
honor, and the height and ornaments of the cabin 
designate the rank or the functions of the occu¬ 
pant.” 

So, too, the general architecture of the city is 
likely to remain for a long time unchanged; and it 
is on the whole so convenient and much of it so 
beautiful, that any sweeping changes would seem 
likely to be for the worse. 


OLD AND NEW BANGKOK. 319 

“ A great proportion of the houses float on large 
rafters, and are sometimes seen moving up and 
down the river, conveying all the belongings of a 
family to some newly selected locality. It is a curi¬ 
ous sight to witness these locomotive abodes, some¬ 
times consisting of many apartments, loosened from 
the cables which have attached them to a particular 
spot, and going forth on their travels to fresh desti¬ 
nations. On the borders of the river there are 
scarcely any but floating houses, which can at any 
time be detached and removed bodily, and without 
any inconvenience, at the will of the owner. 

“ There are a few houses in Bangkok built of 
stone and brick ; but those of the middle classes are 
of wood, while the habitations of the poor are con¬ 
structed of light bamboos, and roofed with leaves of 
the atap palm. Fires are frequent; and from the 
combustible character of the erections, hundreds of 
habitations are often destroyed. But in a few days 
the mischief is generally repaired, for on such occa¬ 
sions friends and neighbors lend a willing hand. 

“ A house generally consists of two divisions ; 
one occupied by the males, the other by the females. 
The piles on which they are built are sunk three or 
four feet into the ground ; and the floor is raised 
six or eight feet from its surface, and is reached by 
a rude ladder, which, if the front of the house be 
towards the river, is made accessible at low tide. 
Of the floating houses, some are of boards, others 
of bamboo, or either wicker-work or palm-leaves. 
These houses have generally a verandah in front, 
and a small wing at each end. When used for shops 


320 


SIAM. 


or warehouses the whole frontage is removed, and 
the contents exposed for inspection to the boats 
which pass by on the river. 

“ The existence of the people of Bangkok may be 
called amphibious. The children pass much of 
their time in the water, paddling and diving and 
swimming as if it were their native element. Boats 
often run against one another, and those within 
them are submerged in the water; but it seldom 
happens that any life is lost, or mischief done to the 
persons whose boats are run down. I have again 
and again seen boats bottom upward, whose owners 
have floated them to the shore, or otherwise re¬ 
paired the damage done as speedily as possible. 
The constant occurrence of petty disasters seems to 
reconcile everybody to their consequences. Gener¬ 
ally speaking, the boats are paddled about with con¬ 
summate dexterity, the practice being acquired 
from the earliest trainings of childhood.” 

The walls around Bangkok describe a circumfer¬ 
ence of nearly five miles. They are twelve feet 
high and nine broad. But, as is apt to be the case 
with large cities, the mural or legal limits of it do 
not include all the population which properly be¬ 
longs to the city. The present population of the 
city can with difficulty be ascertained, but it is pro¬ 
bably more than half a million. 

Dr. Bradley, one of the American missionaries, 
who has resided more than thirty-five years in 
Bangkok, testifies to the growth and improvement 
of the city during that time. The number of float¬ 
ing houses, always inconsiderable compared with 


OLD AND NEW BANGKOK. 


321 


the more permanent dwellings, is steadily decreas¬ 
ing. The style of stilted dwellings raised a few feet 
above the ground will probably be long continued, 
owing to the security which they give against all 
kinds of vermin which might otherwise infest them. 
The density of the population of the city would 
hardly be suspected until the observer should look 
down upon it from some lofty eminence. Even— 

“ An elevation of eighty or one hundred feet will 
not carry you up sufficiently high to see a hun¬ 
dredth part of the houses that thickly stud the 
river-banks and all the canals, because of the high 
and dense foliage of the cocoa-nuts, betel, palmy¬ 
ra, mangosteen, tamarind and a great variety of 
other fruit and flowering trees which so hide most 
of the vast prospect as to make it appear to be lit¬ 
tle else than a dense primeval forest. But it is a 
forest ‘ of living green,’ and we may almost say of 
‘ never withering flowers.’ A richer foliage, year 
in and year out, cannot, probably, be found any¬ 
where on earth. Should you ascend the great 
watch-tower near the palace of the first king, you 
would see at your feet, and to the north and the 
south a mile or two each way, a density of human 
dwellings, but with the exception of the 15 acres 
included in Wat Fra Chetooplion , and the 43 in the 
palace of the first king, and 40 in the palace of the 
second king, and 20 or more in WAt Afaha-tat the 
buildings are not nearly as compact as in our great 
western cities. And looking to the eastward, you 
would see, even within the city walls, that ‘ there 
remaineth yet much land to be possessed.’ Thirty- 


322 


SIAM. 


five years ago the area comprised within the cita¬ 
del had much more of ground than now, which 
might well have led foreign observers to think, 
that that unoccupied ground was left for the 
purpose of having ample room for the people to 
flee to, and find refuge under cover of the city walls 
in times of invasion from the enemy. Looking from 
this observatory westward, your vision crosses the 
river but a little way, and then is expanded on 
what seems to be an unbroken forest, although it is 
in truth full of canals, houses, gardens, orchards and 
paddy-fields. Looking upon the face of the broad 
Meinam, you will see her still and glistening like a 
dim mirror, lying in the form of a monstrous letter 
S, and yet animated with human beings, gliding on 
her bosom in all kinds of water-craft, and you will 
see a line of shipping extending from the upper 
fort down the river three miles, thickly moored in 
the middle of the stream. The only objects to break 
the even circle of the horizon as you look at it in 
the clearest day from this standpoint, are the moun¬ 
tains of Bangplasoi and Petchaburee. But the air 
Is very seldom clear enough for this sight with the 
naked eye, and not very often even with a glass.” 

The great architectural features of the city are, of 
course, the palaces and temples. Of the splendor 
and magnitude of these buildings it is hard to 
convey any adequate idea. Of the palace of the 
first king, which occupies an enclosure not far from 
a mile in circumference, Dr. Bradley says : 

“ On entering the palace walls from the north, you 
find yourself in a large court-yard of perhaps three 


HALL OP AUDIENCE, PALACE OF BANGKOK. 














































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































■ 

■ 




- 


























































OLD AND NEW BANGKOK. 


323 


acres of ground, occupied by the royal court houses, 
armory, etc. And passing onward towards the old 
royal audience hall, you come to another heavy wall 
and a double gate. But this wall does not extend 
all around the royal palace, as some have thought. 
It only separates a small portion of the whole plat 
of the palace ground from the much larger and much 
more sacred part, viz., that part where the supreme 
king lives, and has a grand separate palace for his 
queen, and smaller ones for each one of his numer¬ 
ous concubines. The royal harem is in fact itself 
a compact little city of brick buildings, all of them 
covered with earthen tiles. Our readers may well 
conceive that it must needs require a large space to 
furnish room for one hundred or more distinct pal¬ 
aces, and numerous streets of ample width, and a 
bazaar and market of respectable size, and many 
other brick buildings too numerous to mention. 

“ Water is conducted into the royal harem by con¬ 
duits coming from the river, six or eight feet below 
the surface of the ground, and these are made ac¬ 
cessible to the inmates of the harem by numerous 
unguarded openings in the flagged streets. These 
openings the Siamese call haws —that is, cisterns 
or wells. 

“ The royal mint is located within the second wall 
of the palace, in a retired part of the court yard, 
from which you pass into the old audience hall. 

“ The late king built for himself a new palace on 
the eastern side of this palace ground. It was a 
great improvement on all of its predecessors, and 
opened into the eastern palace court, which is also 


324 


SIAM. 


separated from the king’s residence by high and 
heavy walls, forming the back parts of buildings 
within. From this court there are three large gates, 
probably the finest gates of the palace, opening east¬ 
ward into a broad street which runs north and south. 
On the east side of this is a large lawn of several 
acres, bounded on the east by two long blocks of 
fine two-story brick buildings, one of which was 
erected early in the last reign, and the other in the 
after part of it. 

“ The area of land comprised within the walls of 
the palace of the first king is about forty-three and 
a half acres. The number of souls who live within 
the walls has been differently estimated from five to 
ten thousand. Our impression is that the former num¬ 
ber is the one nearer the truth. It is not probable 
that the population has much changed since the 
reign of Prabat Somdetch Pra Nang Klow, who is 
commonly reported to have had three hundred con¬ 
cubines. Be this as it may, he had hundreds more 
than the late king, and each one of them must have 
had a separate dwelling. His majesty, the present 
supreme king, has not as yet, of course, nearly as 
many wives and concubines as his late royal sire 
had, and it is fervently to be hoped he never will 
have. Nevertheless, we suppose that nearly all the 
dwellings in that royal harem not occupied by the 
wives and concubines of his majesty, are occupied 
by the greater part of the mothers and grandmoth¬ 
ers of the late king’s children and their families, to¬ 
gether with the many female officers of the harem, 
and the host of female servants of the king, and the 


OLD AND NEW BANGKOK. 


323 


female slaves connected with the many mothers. All 
the princes who have attained to their manhood are 
obliged to leave the harem, and their mothers usu¬ 
ally go with them. 

“ Our space will not allow of any extended re¬ 
marks on the palace of the second king. Suffice it 
to say that it comprises an area of ground little less 
than the palace of the first king. But the ground 
is not as thickly populated, neither do its buildings 
indicate as much of wealth and regal glory. And 
this is quite in harmony with Siamese ideas of rank. 
His majesty, the late second king, beautified and 
enriched his premises in many respects. He built 
him a new palace, and made it more European in 
style than the new palace of the first king. He was 
a prince of most excellent mechanical taste, and 
had it been suitable to his rank and means, he would 
have made his palace of the first order—an elysium 
of the East.” 

Bowring adds to this description of the palaces, 
the statement that in the palace of the first king, 
“ not far from the grand hall, is an elevated plat¬ 
form, mounted by several marble steps, on which is 
a throne, where the king gives daily audience in the 
presence of more than a hundred nobles prostrated 
around. If anything is to be conveyed to the king, 
it is pushed forward by nobles, who advance on all- 
fours, but whose great care seems to be to elevate 
nothing above the heads of the surrounding attend¬ 
ants. Any letter from or for the king is conveyed in 
a golden vase. Enormous statues in granite, im¬ 
ported from China, are generally found at the en- 


326 


SIAM. 


trances to the different departments of the palace. 
These statues pften represent monstrous giants, dra¬ 
gons, birds with human heads, and all the devices of 
a creative but rude and superstitious invention. I 
have sometimes remarked huge figures in granite, 
representing European costumes, both military and 
civil; though the prevailing taste is that of ancient 
Chinese art, with all the grotesque and cumbrous 
adornings of by-gone centuries.” 

Specimens of these statues appear in our engrav¬ 
ings of the “Hall*of Audience.” 

The magnificence and costliness of the temples is 
still greater than of the palaces. There is a state¬ 
ment (which is not perfectly authenticated) that at 
the coronation of each new king, there is construct¬ 
ed and set up in one of the royal temples a statue 
of Buddha, of the size of life, and of solid gold. 
The temple within the enclosure of the palace of the 
first king is probably the most richly decorated of 
any in the kingdom. It has mats of silver on the 
floor. It has within it a large collection of curiosities 
and articles of value and beauty, not only from 
Siam, but from China and from Europe. There is 
in it also the celebrated cross-legged statue of Bud¬ 
dha, known as the emerald idol. It is about a foot 
and a half high, and of great antiquity and beauty. 
Bowring questions whether it can be of emerald, 
preferring to believe that it must be of malachite or 
green porphyry. 

The architecture of these palaces and temples 
harmonizes admirably with the tropical landscape in 
which they are situated. Among them, and among 


PORTICO OF THE AUDIENCE IIALL AT BANGKOK. 













































































































































































































































































































































































































' 

* 

. 


OLD AND NEW BANGKOK. 


327 


the humbler dwellings of the multitude, the various 
figures of Siamese, Chinese, Malay and European, 
heathen and Christian, Mussulman, Parsee and 
Buddhist pass in the daily pursuits of livelihood or 
wealth or pleasure. Groups of priests swarming 
about the wats, striving with abstracted gaze to 
look uninterested in all earthly things, receiving with 
a stony indifference the gifts and offerings of the 
faithful, heedless alike of prince and peasant ; a 
royal procession by water, with the carved and 
gilded barge and its hundred rowers ; a nobleman 
with his retinue of servants attending him for va¬ 
rious offices ; the foreign merchants of diverse na¬ 
tionalities ; the quiet, amiable faces of the common 
people, in boat, or street, or shop, or floating 
dwelling ; all these make up a panorama of constant 
and unique interest, which once seen cannot be soon 
forgotten. 


CHAPTER XXI. 


NATURAL PRODUCTIONS OF SIAM. 

HE varieties of animal and vegetable life with 



I which the tropics everywhere abound, are in 
Siam almost innumerable. From the gigantic ele¬ 
phant and rhinoceros in the jungle to the petty 
mosquitoes that infest the dwellings and molest the 
slumbers of the crowded city ; from the gigantic 
Indian fig-tree to the tiniest garden-blossom, an al¬ 
most infinite diversity of life and growth invites at¬ 
tention. The work of scientific observation and 
classification has been, as yet, only very imperfect¬ 
ly accomplished. Much has been done by the 
missionaries, especially by Dr. House of the Ame¬ 
rican Presbyterian mission, who is a competent 
and scientific observer. And the lamented Mou- 
hot gathered vast and valuable collections in the 
almost unexplored regions to which he penetrated. 
But no doubt there are still undiscovered treasures 
of which men of science will presently lay hold. 

“ Elephants,” says Bowring, “ are abundant in 
the forests of Siam, and grow sometimes to the 
height of twelve or thirteen feet. The habits of the 
elephant are gregarious ; but though he does not 


NATURAL PRODUCTIONS OF SIAM. 


329 


willingly attack a man, he is avoided as dangerous ; 
and a troop of elephants will, when going down to 
a river to drink, submerge a boat and its passen¬ 
gers. The destruction even of the wild elephant 
is prohibited by royal orders, yet many are surrep¬ 
titiously destroyed for the sake of their tusks. 
At a certain time of the year, tame female ele¬ 
phants are let loose in the forests. They are re¬ 
called by the sound of a horn, and return accom¬ 
panied by wild males, whom they compel, by blows 
of the proboscis, to enter the walled prisons which 
have been prepared for their capture. The process 
of taming commences by keeping them for several 
days without food ; then a cord is passed round 
their feet, and they are attached to a strong col¬ 
umn. The delicacies of which they are most fond 
are then supplied them, such as sugar-canes, plan¬ 
tains, and fresh herbs ; and at the end of a few 
days the animal is domesticated and resigned to 
his fate. 

“ Without the aid of the elephant, it would 
scarcely be possible to traverse the woods and 
jungles of Siam. He makes his way as he goes, 
crushing with his trunk all that resists his pro¬ 
gress ; over deep morasses or sloughs he drags 
himself on his knees and belly. When he has to 
cross a stream, he ascertains the depth by his 
proboscis, advances slowly, and when he is out of 
his depth he swims, breathing through his trunk, 
which is visible when the whole of his body is 
submerged. He descends into ravines impassable 
by man, and by the aid of his trunk ascends 


330 


SIAM. 


steep mountains. His ordinary pace is about four 
to five miles an hour, and he will journey day and 
night if properly fed. When weary, he strikes the 
ground with his trunk, making a sound resembling 
a horn, which announces to his driver that he de¬ 
sires repose. In Siam the howdah is a great 
roofed basket, in which the traveller, with the aid 
of his cushions, comfortably ensconces himself. 
The motion is disagreeable at first, but ceases to be 
so after a little practice. 

“ Elephants in Siam are much used in warlike 
expeditions, both as carriers and combatants. All 
the nobles are mounted on them, and as many as a 
thousand are sometimes collected. They are 
marched against palisades and entrenchments. In 
the late war with Cochin-China, the Siamese gen¬ 
eral surprised the enemy with some hundreds of 
elephants, to whose tails burning torches were at¬ 
tached. They broke into the camp, and destroyed 
more than a thousand Cochin-Chinese, the remain¬ 
der of the army escaping by flight. 

“ Of elephants in Siam, M. de Bruguieres gives 
some curious anecdotes. He says that there was 
one in Bangkok which was habitually sent by his 
keeper to collect a supply of food, which he never 
failed to do, and that it was divided regularly be¬ 
tween his master and himself on his return home ; 
and that there was another elephant, which stood 
at the door of the king’s palace, before whom a 
large vessel filled with rice was placed, which he 
helped out with a spoon to every talapoin (bonze) 
who passed. 


NATURAL PRODUCTIONS OF SIAM. 


331 


u His account of the Siamese mode of capturing 
wild elephants is not dissimilar to that which has 
been already given. But he adds that, in taming 
the captured animals, every species of torture is 
used : he is lifted by a machine in the air—fire is 
placed under his belly—he is compelled to fast—he 
is goaded with sharp irons, till reduced to absolute 
submission. The tame elephants co-operate with 
their masters, and, when thoroughly subdued, the 
victim is marched away with the rest. 

“ Some curious stories are told by La Loubere 
of the sagacity of elephants, as reported by the Si¬ 
amese. In one case, an elephant upon whose head 
his keeper had cracked a cocoa-nut, kept the frag¬ 
ments of the nut-shell for several days between his 
fore legs, and having found an opportunity of tram¬ 
pling on and killing the keeper, the elephant depos¬ 
ited the fragments upon the dead body. 

“ I heard many instances of sagacity which might 
furnish interesting anecdotes for the zoologist. The 
elephants are undoubtedly proud of their gorgeous 
trappings, and of the attentions they receive. I was 
assured that the removal of the gold and silver rings 
from their tusks was resented by the elephants as 
an indignity, and that they exhibited great satisfac¬ 
tion at their restoration. The transfer of an ele¬ 
phant from a better to a worse stabling is said to 
be accompanied with marks of displeasure.” 

If the elephant is in Siam the king of beasts, the 
white elephant is the king of elephants. This fa¬ 
mous animal is simply an albino, and owes his cele¬ 
brity and sanctity to the accident of disease. He 


332 


SIAM. 


is not really white, (except in spots ;) his color is a 
faded pink, or, as Bowring states of the speci¬ 
men he saw, a light mahogany. In September, 
1870 , however, a very extraordinary elephant arrived 
in Bangkok, having been escorted from Paknam 
with many royal honors. A large part of the body 
of this animal was really white, and great excite¬ 
ment and delight was produced by its arrival at the 
capital. The elephant which Bowring saw and de¬ 
scribed died within a year after his visit. She occu¬ 
pied a large apartment within the grounds of the 
first king’s palace, and not far off, in an elevated po¬ 
sition, was placed a golden chair for the king to oc¬ 
cupy when he should come to visit her. “ She had 
a number of attendants, who were feeding her with 
fresh grass, (which I thought she treated somewhat 
disdainfully,) sugar-cane and plantains. She was 
richly caparisoned in cloth of gold and ornaments, 
some of which she tore away and was chastised for 
the offence by a blow on the proboscis by one of 
of the keepers. She was fastened to an upright 
pole by ropes covered with scarlet cloth, but at 
night was released, had the liberty of the room, 
and slept against a matted and ornamented parti¬ 
tion, sloping from the floor at about an angle of 
forty-five degrees. In a corner of the room was 
a caged monkey of pure white, but seemingly very 
active and mischievous. The prince fed the ele¬ 
phant with sugar-cane, which appeared her favorite 
food ; the grass she seemed disposed to toss about 
rather than to eat. She had been trained to make 
a salaam by lifting her proboscis over the neck, and 


NATURAL PRODUCTIONS OF SIAM. 333 


did so more than once at the prince’s bidding. 
The king sent me the bristles of the tail of the last 
white elephant to look at ; they were fixed in a 
gold handle, such as ladies use for their nosegays 
at balls.” 

There seems some reason for believing that the 
condition of the white elephant is not at present 
quite so luxurious as it used to be. Advancing civ¬ 
ilization begins to make it evident, even to the Siam¬ 
ese, that there are other things more admirable and 
more worthy of reverence. It was noticed that the 
late second king, especially, did not always speak of 
the noble creature with the solemnity which ancient 
usage would have justified,—and even seemed to 
think that there was something droll in the venera¬ 
tion •which was given to it. But the superstition in 
regard to it is by no means extinct; and the pres¬ 
ence of one of these animals is still believed to be a 
pledge of prosperity to the king and country. 
“Hence,” says Bowring, “the white elephant is 
sought with intense ardor, the fortunate finder re¬ 
warded with honors, and he is treated with attention 
almost reverential. This prejudice is traditional, 
and dates from the earliest times. When a tribu¬ 
tary king, or governor of a province has captured a 
white elephant, he is directed to open a road through 
the forest for the comfortable transit of the sacred 
animal; and when he reaches the Meinam, he is re¬ 
ceived on a magnificent raft, with a chintz canopy, 
and garlanded with flowers. He occupies the cen¬ 
tre of the raft, and is pampered with cakes and 
sugar. A noble of high rank, sometimes a prince of 


334 


SIAM. 


royal blood, (and on the last occasion both the first 
and second kings,) accompanied by a great con¬ 
course of barges, with music and bands of musi¬ 
cians, go forth to welcome his arrival. Every barge 
has a rope attached to the raft, and perpetual shouts 
of joy attend the progress of the white elephant to 
the capital, where, on his arrival, he is met by the 
great dignitaries of the State, and by the monarch 
himself, who gives the honored visitor some sonorous 
name, and confers on him the rank of nobility. He 
is conducted to a palace which is prepared for him, 
where a numerous court awaits him, and a number 
of officers and slaves are appointed to administer to 
his wants in vessels of gold and silver. 

“ A superabundance of delicacies is provided for 
his repast; if his tusks are grown, they are enriched 
with rings ; a sort of diadem is placed on his head ; 
and his attendants prostrate themselves, as in the 
presence of the great nobles. When conducted to 
the bath, a huge red parasol is held over him ; mu¬ 
sic and a cortege of slaves accompany him on his 
march. In case of illness, he is attended by a court 
physician; the priests wait upon him, offer up 
prayers for his recovery, and sprinkle him with con¬ 
secrated water: and on his death there is a uni¬ 
versal mourning, and distinguished funeral honors 
are paid to his remains.” 

It is believed that these albinoes are found only 
in Siam and its dependencies, and the white ele¬ 
phant (on a red ground) has been made the flag of 
the kingdom. It is probable enough that the fes¬ 
tival of the white elephant, which at the present 


NATURAL PRODUCTIONS OF SIAM. 


335 


day is celebrated in Japan,* (the elephant being an 
enormous paste-board structure “ marching on the 
feet of men enclosed in each one of the four legs,”) 
may be a tradition of the intercourse between that 
country and Siam, which was formerly more intimate 
than at present. 

“ The white monkeys enjoy almost the same priv¬ 
ileges as the white elephant; they are called pdja, 
have household and other officers, but must yield 
precedence to the elephant. The Siamese say that 
‘ the monkey is a man,—not very handsome, to be 
sure ; but no matter, he is not less our brother.’ 
If he does not speak, it is from prudence, dread¬ 
ing lest the king should compel him to labor for 
him without pay ; nevertheless, it seems he has 
spoken, for he was once sent in the quality of 
generalissimo to fight, if I mistake not, an army 
of giants. With one kick he split a mountain in 
two; and report goes that he finished the war 
with honor. 

“ The Siamese have more respect for white ani¬ 
mals than for those of any other color. They say 
that when a talapoin meets a white cock, he sa¬ 
lutes him,—an honor he will not pay a prince.” 

Tigers are abundant in the jungle,, but are more 
frequently dangerous to other animals, both wild 
and domestic, than to men. The rhinoceros, the 
buffalo, bears, wild pigs, deer, gazelles, and other 
smaller animals inhabit the forests. Monkeys are 


* See Illustrated Library of Travel, Exploration, and Adventure 
Japan, p. 201. 



336 


SIAM. 


abundant. In Cambodia, Mouhot found several 
new species. And the orang-outang is found on 
the Malayan peninsula. Various species of cats, 
and among them tailless cats like those of Japan, 
are also to be found. Bats are abundant, some of 
them said to be nearly as large as a cat. They are 
fond of dwelling among the trees of the temple- 
grounds, and Pallegoix says (but it seems that the 
good bishop must have overstated the case, as 
other travellers have failed to notice such a phe¬ 
nomenon) that “ at night they hang over the city of 
Bangkok like a dense black cloud, which appears to 
be leagues in length.” 

Birds are abundant, and often of great size and 
beauty ; some of them sweet singers, some of them 
skillful mimics, some of them useful as scavengers. 
Peacocks, parrots, parroquets, crows, jays, pigeons, 
in great numbers and variety, inhabit the forest 
trees. 

What the elephant is in the forest, the crocodile 
is in the rivers, the king of creeping things. The 
eggs of the crocodile are valued as a delicacy; 
but the business of collecting them ^ is attended 
with so many risks that it is not regarded as a 
popular or cheerful avocation. It will be well for 
the collector to have a horse at hand on which he 
can take immediate flight. The infuriated mother 
seldom fails, says Pallegoix, to rush out in de¬ 
fence of her progeny. 

✓ “ At Bangkok there are professional crocodile- 

charmers. If a person is reported to have been 
seized by a crocodile, the king orders the animal to 


NA TUBAL PRODUCTIONS OF SIAM. 


337 


be captured. The charmer, accompanied by many 
boats, and a number of attendants with spears and 
ropes, visits the spot where the presence of the 
crocodile has been announced, and, after certain 
ceremonies, writes to invite the presence of the 
crocodile. The crocodile-charmer, on his appear¬ 
ance, springs on his back, and gouges his eyes with 
his fingers ; while the attendants spring into the 
water, some fastening ropes round his throat, oth¬ 
ers round his legs, till the exhausted monster is 
dragged to the shore and deposited in the pres¬ 
ence of the authorities. Father Pallegoix affirms 
that the Annamite Christians of his communion 
are eminently adroit in these dangerous adventures, 
and that he has himself seen as many as fifty cro¬ 
codiles in a single village so taken, and bound to 
the uprights of the houses. But his account of the 
Cambodian mode of capture is still more remark¬ 
able. He says that the Cambodian river-boats 
carry hooks, which, by being kept in motion, catch 
hold of the crocodiles ; that during the struggle, a 
knot is thrown over the animal’s tail; that the ex¬ 
tremity of the tail is cut off, and a sharp bamboo 
passed through the vertebrae of the spine into the 
brain, when the animal expires. 

“ There are many species of lizards ; the lar¬ 
gest is the takuet. His name has passed into a 
Siamese proverb, as the representative of a crafty, 
double-dealing knave ; as the takuet has two 
tongues, or rather one tongue divided into two.” 
This is perhaps the lizard (about twice as large as the 
American bull-frog) which comes into tj,i© dwellings 


338 


SIAM. 


unmolested and makes himself extremely useful by 
his destruction of vermin. He is a noisy creature, 
however, with a prodigious voice. He begins with 
a loud and startling whirr-r-r-r, like the drumming 
of a partridge or the running down of an alarm- 
clock, and follows up the sensation which he thus 
produces by the distinct utterance of the syllables, 
“ To-kay,” four or five times repeated. He is not 
only harmless but positively useful, but it takes a 
good while for a stranger to become so well ac¬ 
quainted with him that the sound of his cry from 
the ceiling, over one’s bed, for instance, and wak¬ 
ing one from a sound sleep, is not somewhat 
alarming. 

There is no lack of serpents, large and small. 
Pallegoix mentions one that will follow any light 
or torch in the darkness, and is only to be avoid¬ 
ed by extinguishing or abandoning the light which 
has attracted him. There are serpent-charmers, 
as in other parts of India. They extract the poi¬ 
son from certain kinds of vipers, and then train 
them to figlit with one another, to dance, and per¬ 
form various tricks. 

Some kinds of fish have already been described,* 
but Pallagoix mentions one or two other varie¬ 
ties that are interesting, and, so far as known, pecu¬ 
liar to Siamese waters. One, “ a large fish, called 
the meng-phu, weighing from thirty to forty pounds, 
of a bright greenish-blue color, will spring out of 
the water to attack and bite bathers.” He says 


See page 17. 



NATURAL PRODUCTIONS OF SIAM. 339 


there “is also a tetraodon, called by the Siamese the 
moon, without teeth, but with jaws sharp as scis¬ 
sors ; it can inflate itself so as to* become-round as 
a ball ; it attacks the toes, the calf, and the thighs 
of bathers, and, as it carries away a portion of the 
flesh, a wound is left which it is difficult to heal.” 

Of centipedes, scorpions, ants, mosquitoes, and 
the various pests and plagues common to all trop¬ 
ical countries, it is not necessary to speak in de¬ 
tail. And of the wonderful fire-flies a description 
has already been given* 

Sir John Bowring considered that sugar was 
likely to become the principal export of Siam, but 
thus far it would seem that rice has taken the pre¬ 
cedence. The gutta-percha tree, all kinds of palms, 
and of fruits a vast and wonderful variety, (among 
which are some peculiar to Siam,) are abundant. 
The durian and mangosteen are the most remark¬ 
able, and have already been described. So far as is 
known, they grow only in the regions adjacent to the 
Gulf of Siam and the Straits of Sunda. And 
though there are many fruits common to these and 
to all tropical countries which are more useful, 
(such as the banana, of which there are said to 
be in Siam not less than fifty varieties, “ in size 
from a little finger to an elephant’s tusk,”) there 
are none more curious than these. The season of 
the mangosteen is the same with that of the du¬ 
rian. The tree grows about fifteen feet high, and 
the foliage is extremely glossy and dark. The 


See page 81. 




340 


SIAM. 


fruit may be eaten in large quantities with safety, 
and is of incomparable delicacy of flavor. No 
fruit in the world has won such praises as the man- 
gosteen. 

Of the mineral treasures of Siam enough has 
been already indicated in the description of the 
wealth and magnificence which is everywhere ap¬ 
parent. We need only add that coal of excellent 
quality and in great abundance has been recently 
discovered ; and that during the year 1870 among 
the exports from Bangkok was tin to the value of 
$154,000. 





















































































































































































* 










































CHAPTER XXII. 


CHRISTIAN MISSIONS IN SIAM—THE OUTLOOK FOR THE 
FUTURE. 

O account of the present condition of Siam 



XN can be at all complete which does not notice 
the history of missionary enterprise in that country. 
Allusion has already been made to the efforts of 
Roman Catholic missionaries, Portuguese and 
French, to introduce Christianity and to achieve 
for the Church a great success by the conversion 
of the king and his people. The scheme failed, 
and the political intrigue which was involved in it 
came also to an ignominious conclusion ; and the 
first era of Roman Catholic missions in Siam 
closed in 1780, when a royal decree banished the 
missionaries from the kingdom. They did not re¬ 
turn in any considerable numbers or to make any 
permanent residence until 1830. In that year the 
late Bishop Pallegoix, to whom we ow r e so much of 
our knowledge of the country and the people, 
(and who died a few years since, sincerely respect¬ 
ed and beloved by Buddhists and by Christians,) 
was appointed to resume the interrupted labors of 
the Roman Catholic Church. Under his zealous 


342 


SIAM. 


and skillful management, much of a certain kind 
of success has been achieved, but very few of the 
converts are to be found among the native Siam¬ 
ese. There is at present on the ground a force of 
about twenty missionaries, including a vicar apos¬ 
tolic and a bishop. Their converts may number 
from seven to ten thousand, chiefly from the Chi¬ 
nese population. 

The religious success of the Protestant mission¬ 
aries, which has not been very encouraging, has 
also been in the first place and for the most part 
among the Chinese residents. A few Siamese 
converts are reported within the past few years. 
The first Protestant mission was that of the Amer¬ 
ican Baptist Board, which was on the ground 
within three years after the arrival of Bishop Pal- 
legoix. The Baptists were followed within a few 
years by Congregationalists and Presbyterians 
from the United States, and the operations of the 
Protestant missionaries of different denominations 
have been conducted with unremitting courage, 
diligence and fidelity. 

At first sight these years of effort might seem to 
have resulted in failure. The statistics show but 
little accomplished ; the roll of communicants 
seems insignificant. And of the sincerity and in¬ 
telligence even of this small handful there are oc¬ 
casional misgivings. And on the whole, those who 
are quick to criticise and to oppose foreign missions 
might seem to have a good argument and to find a 
case in point, in the history of missions in Siam. 

But really the success of these efforts has been 


CHRISTIAN MISSIONS IN SIAM 


343 


extraordinary, although the history of them exhib¬ 
its an order of results almost without precedent. 
Ordinarily, the religious enlightenment of a people 
comes first, and the civilization follows as a thing 
of course. But here the Christianization of the 
nation has scarcely begun, but its civilization has 
made (as this volume has abundantly shown) 
much more than a beginning. 

For it is to the labors of the Christian mission¬ 
aries in Siam that the remarkable advancement of 
the kings and nobles, and even of some of the com¬ 
mon people, in general knowledge and even in ex¬ 
act science, is o wing. The usurpation which kept 
the last two kings (the first and second) nearly 
thirty years from their thrones was really of great 
advantage both to them and to their kingdom. 
Shut out from any very active participation in po¬ 
litical- affairs, their restless and intelligent minds 
were turned into new channels of activity. The 
elder brother in his cloister, the younger in his 
study and his workshop, busied themselves with the 
pursuit of knowledge. The elder, as a priest of 
Buddhism, turned naturally to the study of lan¬ 
guage and literature. The younger busied himself 
with natural science, and more especially with ma¬ 
thematical and military science. The Boman Ca¬ 
tholic priests were ready instructors of the elder 
brother in the Latin language. And among the 
American missionaries there were some with a 
practical knowledge of various mechanical arts. It 
was from them that the two brothers learned Eng¬ 
lish and received the assistance and advice which 


344 


SIAM. 


they needed in order to perfect themselves in Wes¬ 
tern science. At a very early day they began to 
be familiar with them ; to receive them and their 
wives on terms of friendly and fraternal intimacy ; 
to send for them whenever counsel or practical aid 
was needed in their various philosophical pursuits 
and experiments. Through the printing-presses of 
the Protestant missions much has been done to 
arouse the people from the lethargy of centuries 
and to diffuse among them useful intelligence of 
every sort. The late king was not content until 
he established a press of his own, of which he 
made constant and busy use. The medical mis¬ 
sionaries, by their charitable work among the rich, 
in the healing of disease and by instituting various 
sanitary and precautionary expedients, have done 
much to familiarize all classes with the excellence 
of Western science, and to draw attention and re¬ 
spect to the civilization which they represent. It 
is due to the Christian missionaries, and (without 
any disparagement to the excellence of the Koman 
Catholic priests,) we may say especially to the 
American missionaries, more than to any enter¬ 
prise of commerce or shrewdness of diplomacy, 
that Siam is so far advanced in its intercourse 
with other nations. When Sir John Bowring 
came in 1855 to negotiate his treaty, he found 
that, instead of having to deal with an ignorant, 
narrow and savage government, the two kings and 
some of the noblemen were educated gentlemen, 
well fitted to discuss with him, with intelligent skill 
and fairness, the important matters which he had in 


CHRISTIAN MISSIONS IN SIAM. 


345 


hand. Sir John did his work for the most part 
ably and well. But the fruit was ripe before he 
plucked it. And it was by the patient and persist¬ 
ent labors of the missionaries for twenty years that 
the results which he achieved were made not only 
possible but easy. 

Hitherto the Buddhist religion, which prevails in 
Siam in a form probably more pure and simple than 
elsewhere, has firmly withstood the endeavors of the 
Christian missionaries to supplant it. The converts 
are chiefly from among the Chinese, who, for centu¬ 
ries past, and in great numbers, have made their 
homes in this fertile country, monopolizing much of 
its industry, and sometimes, with characteristic thrif¬ 
tiness, accumulating much wealth. They have in¬ 
termarried with the Siamese, and have become a 
permanent element in the population, numbering, ac¬ 
cording to the estimate of Pallegoix, almost as 
many as the native Siamese, or Thai. For some 
reason, they seem to be more susceptible to the 
influence of the Christian teachers, and many of 
them have given evidence of a sincere and intelli¬ 
gent attachment to the Christian faith. The na¬ 
tive Siamese, however, though acknowledging the 
superiority of Christian science, and expressing 
much personal esteem and attachment for the 
missionaries, give somewhat scornful heed, or no 
heed at all, to the religious truths which they in¬ 
culcate. The late second king was suspected of 
cherishing secretly a greater belief in Christianity 
than he was willing to avow. But after his death, 
his brother, the first king, very emphatically and 


346 


SIAM. 


somewhat angrily denied that there was any ground 
for such suspicions concerning him. For himself, 
though willing to be regarded as the founder of a 
new and more liberal school of Buddhism, he was 
the steady “ defender of the faith ” in which he was 
nurtured, and in the priesthood of which so many 
years of his life were passed. He seldom did any¬ 
thing which looked like persecution of the mission¬ 
aries, but contented himself with occasionally snub¬ 
bing them in a patronizing or more or less con¬ 
temptuous manner. This attitude of contemptu¬ 
ous indifference is also that which is commonly 
assumed by the Buddhist priests. “ Do you think,” 
said one of them on some occasion to the mis¬ 
sionaries, “ do you think you will beat down our 
great mountains with your small tools?” And on 
another occasion the king is reported to have said 
that there was about as much probability that the 
Buddhists would convert the Christians, as that 
the Christians would convert the Buddhists. 

But there can be little doubt with those who 
take a truly philosophical view of the future of 
Siam, and still less with those who take a religious 
view of it, that this advancement in civilization 
must open the way for religious enlightenment as 
■well. Thus far there has come only the knowledge 
which “ puffeth up.” And how much it puffeth up, 
is evident from the pedantic documents which 
used to issue from the facile pen of his majesty, 
the late first king. A little more slowly, but none 
the less surely, there must come as well that 
Christian charity which “ buildeth up.” So, every 


GHRIS1IAN MISSIONS IN SIAM. 


347 


time the “ spicy breezes/’ sweeping across the 
busy river, wake the music of the innumerable pa¬ 
goda bells, they ring prophetic of the better day. 
Wiser and broader views of missionary labor will 
no doubt prevail in time, and increasing experience 
will suggest more practical and efficient methods. 
But the faith and patience of the zealous men 
and women who have labored now for forty years 
in the name and in the spirit of Christ, has not 
been and shall not be in vain. Those golden bells, 
swinging over the high roofs of splendid temples, 
and of stately palaces, over palm and banyan, and 
shining river, and crowded city, shall more and 
more 


* * Ring out the darkness of the land— 

Ring in the Christ that is to be.” 

Even if the work of the missionaries should cease 
to-day, the results accomplished would be of im¬ 
mense and permanent value. They have intro¬ 
duced Christian science. They have made a be¬ 
ginning of Christian literature, by the translation 
of the Scriptures. They have awakened an in¬ 
satiable appetite for Christian civilization. And 
the end is not yet. 


THE END. 


• > •• 




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